Time Work in the Office and Shop: Workers’ Strategic Adaptations to the 4-Day Week

Abstract

Increasingly popular post-COVID-19 4-day workweek trials challenge deeply embedded 5-day, 40-hour temporal policies and practices, fostering time-work strategies by employees in the face of reduced working hours. This qualitative study in a small business manufacturing customized products finds similar adaptive responses among both office and shop workers. We detect four prevailing time-work strategies: (1) (re) organizing tasks, (2) shifting (work) time, (3) scheduling communication, and a more deliberate form of time shifting, (4) blocking out (work and nonwork) time. These strategies appear to reflect an increasing sense of employee agency. We discuss possible issues around sustainability.

Keywords

4-day workweek time work adaptive strategies organizational intervention flexible work

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