Working-time reduction: from a weekly working-time reduction to a reduction of weekly working days?

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.