Beyond the Work Society? Social Policy and the Reduction of Working Time

Abstract Recently there has been increased attention in critiques of paid work and calls for less work via working-time reduction. Yet except for universal basic income and the shorter working week, few have examined how welfare states, more broadly, can effectively reduce working-time. This article argues widespread change is required to effectively reduce working-time. First, it explores how welfare states have historically affected working-time. Second, it examines universal basic income and the shorter working week as conduits for working-time reduction. Third, the article analyses alternative ways that working-time reduction has been achieved in advanced welfare states through, for example, parental leave policies, sabbaticals, and annual leave entitlements. In doing so, it concludes with a ‘life-time’ perspective, whereby the goal of less work is imagined and achieved over a whole life. This holds the best hope for a gradual, but profound, change in social and cultural norms around paid work.