Shaping the future of work time: Toward feasible, inclusive, and sustainable models of working time reduction in europe

Debates on working time reduction (WTR) are accelerating in Europe’s policy and public arenas, reflecting demographic pressures, low growth, and demands for more sustainable labour markets. While WTR promises gains in well-being, equality, and inclusion, evidence remains fragmented, often limited to single-country pilots and one-size-fits-all models such as the four-day week. OPTIME – Opportunities for Time in Employment, Environment, and Equality – addresses this gap by generating the first cross-national, multi-level evidence base on feasible, inclusive, and sustainable WTR models. OPTIME integrates micro-, meso-, and macro-level perspectives across eight European countries, combining secondary datasets, historical reform studies, existing pilot data, new primary data on enablers and barriers, new multi-country pilots, and online experiments. This comprehensive design enables novel modelling of WTR’s impacts on employees, organisations, and societies. Specific attention is given to underrepresented and vulnerable groups (such as women, caregivers, migrants, older and neurodiverse workers) and to environmental effects such as commuting, energy use, and carbon footprints. A core innovation is the co-creation of findings with policymakers, social partners, employers, and civil society through a European stakeholder panel, national workshops, and foresight exercises. These processes ensure that empirical insights translate into actionable policy recommendations, implementation toolkits, and future scenarios. By systematically identifying enablers, barriers, and outcomes, OPTIME will deliver evidence-informed strategies to scale WTR models that enhance resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability. Beyond advancing academic knowledge, OPTIME will provide Europe’s first integrated policy framework on WTR, positioning the EU as a global leader in shaping the future of work.