Joe O'Connor: Can Working Less Actually Mean Achieving More?

In this episode, Daniel Lamadrid interviews Joe O'Connor, a globally recognized researcher, consultant, and advocate for work time reduction. Originally from Ireland, O'Connor began studying compressed schedules in the Irish Public Service nearly a decade ago, where he discovered that employees who dropped to four days — at 80% pay — were delivering essentially the same output as their five-day colleagues. That finding led him to Parkinson's Law and, eventually, to leading the world's first coordinated private-sector four-day workweek pilot and the landmark post-pandemic trials in the UK, Ireland, and North America.

 

Today, O'Connor leads Work Time Revolution, advising hundreds of companies across industries and continents on redesigning work around shorter schedules and AI adoption. His book, Do More in 4 (Harvard Business Review Press), is the definitive playbook on making reduced work time operationally and commercially sustainable. Find him on LinkedIn, at worktimerevolution.com, or at domorein4.com.