13:30
Birkbeck, University of London
November 4
Birkbeck Central
When: — Venue: Birkbeck Central
Throughout history, pioneering firms have driven major shifts in working time. Today, a growing number of companies are experimenting with shorter weeks. Yet these firms are often scattered. While briefly profiled in the media, their experiences remain largely undocumented. Instead of studying how such pioneers have successfully made the model work, many economists and business leaders dismiss them as outliers. The prevailing assumption is that they must be operating below peak efficiency or sacrificing profits—and therefore do not merit serious attention.
But what happens when businesses cut working time without cutting pay? Join us for an evening with two pioneering entrepreneurs who have successfully shortened the working week in their organisations. These entrepreneurs will explain that shortening hours, if it is done right, does not undermine productivity; on the contrary, it can be one of the keys to achieving higher performance.
Kenneth Lewis (OBE) is founder of award-winning Dutton Engineering (Woodside) Ltd, a precision metal manufacturer. He has held two Government ministerial appointments, and is an international speaker on evolving business models, culture, and productivity.
Simon Ursell is the founder and chair of Tyler Grange, an environmental consultancy and B-Corp with more than 130 employees across 7 offices. Tyler Grange was one of the participants in the 2022 UK Four-Day Week Pilot.
The session will open with a short introduction from Prof. Pedro Gomes on the historical roots of shorter working weeks, followed by talks, Q&A, and networking.
This event brings together business leaders, students, and professionals to explore how rethinking working time can drive productivity, wellbeing, and organisational change.
The event will be both in-person (BCN 206) and online.
Contact name: Pedro Gomes
Contact phone: 07857422866
SpeakersPedro Gomes is a Professor of Economics at Birkbeck, University of London, where he has been teaching since 2017. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at Carlos III University of Madrid for seven years and a Visiting Professor at the University of Essex. He obtained his PhD from the London School of Economics in 2010.A researcher in the macroeconomics of labor markets, he has published extensively in academic journals and contributed chapters to books. In 2021, he published Friday is the New Saturday in the UK, presenting his vision of the four-day week as a more efficient and sustainable way to organize the economy. The book received critical acclaim, was named a Financial Times Book of the Month, and has been translated into Portuguese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish.In 2022, he was invited by the Portuguese government to coordinate the country’s first four-day week trial in the private sector. The trial, conducted in 2023 with 41 participating companies, resulted in 90% of firms maintaining reduced working hours beyond the pilot phase.
Ken Lewis is an apprentice-trained engineer, designer, and entrepreneur with decades of experience in business leadership and productivity improvement. After serving in the military, he worked as a turnaround specialist for Barclays Bank before founding Dutton Engineering (Woodside Ltd) in 1972. Under his leadership, the company pioneered a four-day working week, won multiple awards—including the UK’s Best SME for productivity improvement (1996)—and became a host company for the UK government’s Inside UK Enterprise scheme.
Ken has served on numerous boards across sectors, from engineering to the NHS, and has invested in seven start-ups. He has collaborated with both the UK Department of Trade and Industry and Germany’s TOPS initiative on productivity and innovation. His work has been featured in a BBC documentary, Turning Organisation Upside Down, used in the Open University’s MBA programme.
An international speaker and consultant, Ken is the author of Kaizen: The Right Approach to Continuous Improvement and the bestselling How to Transform Your Company and Enjoy It!. As Principal of Ken Lewis Associates, he continues to advise organisations on culture change, productivity, and work-life balance.
Simon Ursell is an entrepreneur and business coach who founded his first company at 24 and has since worked across organisations of every size. He is Co-Founder and Chair of Tyler Grange, an environmental consultancy and certified B-Corp, which he led for 13 years, growing it from start-up to a market leader with more than 130 people across seven UK offices.
Alongside his role at Tyler Grange, Simon is also a business coach providing a range of SMEs and charities. He works closely with founders and leadership teams, helping them scale, build resilient teams, grow in confidence, and make a positive impact.
A strong believer that progress comes from change, Simon embraces risk and challenges convention. He pioneered the four-day working week at Tyler Grange and now helps other organisations do the same.
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