Working-time reduction: from a weekly working-time reduction to a reduction of weekly working days?
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Successive issues have shaped policies aimed at reducing working time since the mid-19th century, all of which led to the gradual construction of a standard working time, achieved during the post-Second World War period. With the rise in the 1980s onwards of non-standard hours and processes of work intensification and densification, this previously achieved standard was progressively destabilised, having harmful effects on workers’ health and well-being in a context marked by the growth of dual-earner couples and single-parent families. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these difficulties, prompting many to question the place of work and to reassess the balance of various life domains. Against this backdrop, four-day-week trials were launched in several countries worldwide, yielding positive results for both employees and businesses. In revisiting the emergent conditions of the four-day week, we consider the main impacts and question the limits and overall scope of this approach to reducing working time.
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Sorted by citations
Trade union working time policies in the EU
Müller, T. (2026) · Transfer European Review of Labour and Research · doi:10.1177/10242589261497838
- Authors
- Boulin, J.-Y.
- Affiliations
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Boulin, Jean-Yves
- Venue
- Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2026-09-21
- ISSN
- 1024-2589 (ISSN-L)
- 1996-7284
- OpenAlex
- W7213910561
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1
- FWCI
- 5.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Transfer European Review of Labour and Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Labor Law and Work Dynamics
- Keywords
- working time reduction, irregular working hours, work intensification, worker health and well-being, dual-earner couples, single-parent families, COVID-19 pandemic, work-life balance
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