Winning workplaces abolish the high-performer efficiency tax

This is the efficiency tax – a systemic flaw where the prize for high performance is higher expectations. It is a cultural problem that can drain your energy, and a company of its best workers.

But as the 2026 Financial Review BOSS Best Places to Work Awards reveal, the nation’s top-performing firms are doing things differently. For them, a great place to work isn’t about office perks or wellness apps – it’s about worker agency.

More than two years into its four-day week implementation, Medibank, this year’s gold winner in the Best Enterprise Organisation category (2000+ employees), says 550 employees are now working a 100:80:100 model – 100 per cent output, 80 per cent of the hours, 100 per cent pay.

“Over time, we’ve seen positive and sustained improvements in engagement, job satisfaction and the health and wellbeing of participants,” says the insurer’s executive people lead, Kylie Bishop. And that lift has translated into improved performance on the job as well, she says.

“There’s a sequential effect,” she says. “Healthier employees are more engaged, and that engagement drives sustainable performance.”

The four-day week at Medibank is not a gift. It’s an earned outcome based on a careful redesign of workflows in partnership with academics at Macquarie University. “The ‘gift of time’ is earned when teams eliminate low-value work and deliver what’s needed for customers and patients,” says Bishop.

This approach aligns with OECD observations on productivity: in advanced economies, increasing output no longer correlates with longer hours, but with higher-quality work design. In fact, the research found more hours often correlates with job strain, which suppresses productivity.

“We are clear that it isn’t a compressed work week,” Bishop says. “So the focus has to be on fundamentally redesigning work.”

Another four-day week proponent is the team at Equality Media + Marketing, gold winner in the Best Small Organisation category (20-99 employees) for the third year in a row.

Since introducing its 32-hour week by redesigning workflows and cutting back on unnecessary meetings, the boutique agency watched unscheduled leave fall by 17 per cent – and almost doubled its retention. Almost all (94 per cent) of employees said they felt their mental wellbeing was prioritised by the move and the firm says engagement is “higher than ever”.

They also have a generous 19 days of additional leave on offer to support workers through life changes and cultural observances. It can be used on anything from reproductive health management to time off when accommodating a new pet.

A similar policy is also a big drawcard at Future Group, gold winner in the Best Medium Organisation category (100-499 employees), where there is a big emphasis on flexible working. This, it says, is about creating a “sustainable” work environment and culture.

“Rather than rigid rules, we empower people to design their week around energy, caregiving and life commitments,” Future Group says. “We see lower burnout indicators, more sustainable work patterns, and consistent feedback that people feel trusted, respected and able to bring their best.”

A common criticism of flexible work is that it only benefits head-office executives. Medibank is challenging this by pushing its autonomy agenda into other work settings as well. Research by McKinsey has shown frontline workers often cite a lack of agency over their schedules as a top reason for resignation, frequently saying it’s even more important to them than salary.

In their home health division, Medibank is moving away from a remote management approach, experimenting with “self-managed teams that own their patient caseloads, rather than relying on centralised rostering”, Bishop says. “It’s reducing travel time and improving both patient and employee satisfaction.”