Implementing Flexible Working Practices – Work Wellness Institute Conference Series

Entrepreneur Andrew Barnes has made a career of market-changing innovation and industry digitisation leading and transforming companies in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, he made international headlines across the world with an idea that he believed would raise productivity in the workplace, while also contributing to the personal wellbeing of his staff – a 4 day work week. Through his company – New Zealand's largest corporate trustee company, Perpetual Guardian – Andrew announced a 4 day week trial, with staff receiving an extra day off work, on full pay, each week. The trial was an undeniable success, sparking widespread international interest and winning a number of global awards. Today, Barnes is considered the pioneer and architect of the global 4 day week movement. As co-founder of 4 Day Week Global with his partner, Charlotte Lockhart, they are conducting the largest ever trials, currently taking place across the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. More than 250 companies around the world with over 100,000 staff are taking part in the trials to change their workplaces combined with a global research programme involving academics from leading universities including Boston College, Cambridge, Oxford and many more. Additionally, in the last 4 years Andrew has worked with companies such as Unilever and has been part of the advisory process for close to a dozen country and regional governments who are all effecting change to the way their populations will work now and in the future. Recently he was recognised Introducing The Forbes Future Of Work 50 as a leader in workplace innovation. Andrew and Charlotte’s vision is to provide a community environment for companies, researchers/academics and interested parties to be able to connect and advance this idea as part of the future of work. Through this work he is on the advisory boards of both the US and Ireland 4 day week campaigns and the board of the newly created Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University and is a founding member of the World Wellbeing Movement. In 2019 he wrote The 4 Day Week book, as a how to guide for companies trying to reduce work hours and increase productivity