Draft:4 Day Week Global

Submission declined on 27 July 2026 by Ca (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion for organizations and companies. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the subject in detail, excluding routine coverage like product launches, staff appointments, or financial reports and listings in databases or listicles; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the subject, such as press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by Ca 25 days ago. Last edited by Ca 25 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: There seem to be plenty of press coverage on the results of the trials that the organisation conducts, but little about the organisation itself. Ca ^{talk to me!} 15:27, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. Rensburg94 (talk) 16:53, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

4 Day Week Global is an international not-for-profit organisation which was established in New Zealand that researches and advocates for reduced-hour, output-focused work weeks.^[1]

The organisation was founded in 2019 by New Zealand entrepreneurs Andrew Barnes (businessman) and Charlotte Lockhart, following a 2018 four-day work week trial at Perpetual Guardian, a trust and estate planning firm founded by Barnes.^[2] It promotes the 100:80:100 model, under which employees receive full pay for working approximately 80 per cent of previously contracted hours, on the condition that 100 per cent of productivity is maintained.^[3]

Since 2022, the organisation has coordinated internationally-comparable pilot programmes in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Portugal, Brazil and Germany, involving several hundred participating organisations and tens of thousands of employees.^[4] Research partners have included Boston College, the University of Cambridge, the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and University College Dublin.^[5]

In 2023, Time magazine included 4 Day Week Global in its list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, in the Disruptors category.^[6] The organisation's work has been the subject of coverage in The New York Times, the BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Economist, National Public Radio, Fortune and Fast Company, among other international outlets.

The origins of 4 Day Week Global lie in a 2018 work redesign trial conducted at Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand estate planning and trust firm founded by Andrew Barnes. Under the trial, Perpetual Guardian's approximately 240 staff worked four days per week at full pay, on the condition that productivity was maintained. The trial was independently assessed by researchers from the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology.

Reported results included maintained or improved productivity, higher staff engagement, and improvements in self-reported work-life balance.^[7] The trial was covered by international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN and the BBC.

Following that coverage and the volume of inbound interest received by Perpetual Guardian, Barnes and his partner Charlotte Lockhart established 4 Day Week Global as a separate not-for-profit entity in 2019 to research, refine and scale the model. Lockhart, previously head of marketing and partnerships at Perpetual Guardian, took on the role of managing Director.

In September 2021, the organisation appointed Joe O'Connor, formerly of the Irish trade union federation Fórsa and the founder of 4 Day Week Ireland, as its first chief executive. O'Connor relocated to the United States to lead the organisation's international expansion.

In February 2023, Dr Dale Whelehan, an Irish behavioural scientist previously with Deloitte Ireland, was appointed chief executive.

4 Day Week Global describes its core framework as the 100:80:100 model, under which employees retain full pay while working approximately 80 per cent of their previously contracted hours, conditional on maintaining 100 per cent of prior productivity. The organisation distinguishes this model from compressed work weeks, which preserve total hours by concentrating them into fewer days.

Pilot programmes are typically structured over six months. Participating employers undertake preparation work in advance of hour reductions, focused on identifying and eliminating low-value tasks and meetings. Cohort-based mentoring, data collection and independent academic evaluation run throughout the pilot period.^[8]

The United Kingdom pilot, conducted over six months in 2022, involved 61 participating organisations and approximately 2,900 employees. Results were published in February 2023 in partnership with the think tank Autonomy and academic researchers at Boston College, the University of Cambridge and University College Dublin.^[9] A majority of participating organisations continued with reduced hours after the trial concluded.^[10]

A concurrent pilot in Ireland involved 12 organisations. Subsequent pilots covered the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Portugal, Brazil and Germany. Research findings from the pilots have been published in partnership with academic collaborators and have been the subject of reporting in international media.^[11]

Research findings from the pilots have been debated publicly. Supporters have pointed to sustained productivity and improved staff wellbeing outcomes. Critics have argued that the self-selecting nature of participating organisations limits the generalisability of the findings, and that the model may be less applicable to sectors with continuous operations, shift work or high customer-facing demand.

In June 2023, Time magazine included 4 Day Week Global in its annual list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, in the Disruptors category. In 2023 the organisation was also named in Fast Company's annual list of the Most Innovative Companies.^[12]

In the 2023 King's Birthday Honours, co-founder Charlotte Lockhart was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy. Her citation, issued by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, identified her role as managing director and co-founder of 4 Day Week Global and credited the organisation with influencing policy discussions and legislative reviews in several countries.^[13] Lockhart was also named in Forbes magazine's inaugural Future of Work 50 list in 2022.^[14]

In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours, co-founder Andrew Barnes was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy.^[15]

4 Day Week Global was founded by Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart. Barnes is also the founder of Perpetual Guardian and co-author, with Stephanie Jones, of The 4 Day Week, published by Hachette Australia in 2020. Lockhart was formerly head of marketing and partnerships at Perpetual Guardian. Beyond her role at 4 Day Week Global, she is chair of Givealittle, a New Zealand peer-to-peer charitable fundraising platform, and a trustee of the Te Papa Foundation. As of 2026, Dale Whelehan serves as chief executive officer.

• Four-day workweek
• Andrew Barnes (businessman)
• Working time