About
Abstract: The rapid growth of pilot projects for 4-day working weeks in several companies in different countries has generated considerable international attention. Despite being proposed more than half a century ago, shorter working weeks, particularly with 30-32 hours of work, have received a lot of attention in the wake of COVID-19 and the growing difficulties in hiring and retaining workers. Academics, political parties and think tanks have taken an increasing interest in this debate, which is reflected in widespread media coverage, a growing number of pilot projects and new scientific publications.
The reduction to 4 working days is associated with different arguments in favour and against. On the one hand, there are those who argue that it is a practice that can be used to promote improvements in workers' productivity and performance, and with the potential to respond to some of the contemporary challenges that exist, from innovation and technological development, gender inequalities to workers' health and well-being problems. Outside the sphere of work, environmental benefits are also mentioned, due to the reduction in commuting and energy use in organisations On the other hand, there are problems associated with the intensification of work, which can lead to losses in terms of productivity and work stress, and reduced opportunities for innovation, through reduced interaction between workers and also difficulties in implementation itself. In this sense, it is important to bear in mind that the four-day week may not work equally for all companies or all sectors, either because of the operations and activities that make them up, or because of the dynamics of the business environment and the perceptions that are built up around the issue.
The main aim of this project is to analyse the implementation process and the effects of the 4-day week on companies in Portugal, using case study methodology. This objective is broken down into the following specific objectives: (i) to carry out exploratory case studies of the companies that took part in the Portuguese pilot project (June - December 2023); (ii) to conduct longitudinal case studies of the companies that chose to continue with this process (17). In order to achieve specific objective (i), it is essential to draw on the knowledge and skills of the two members of the research team who are coordinating the Portuguese pilot project and are carrying out the quantitative analysis of the effects obtained in the experimental group of 21 companies, comparing them with the results of a control group made up of 14 companies that decided not to test the 4-day week, based on questionnaire surveys (Gomes & Fontinha, 2023). . These questionnaires were developed by a research team at Boston College for use in 4 Day Week Global pilot projects, and have been duly translated, adapted and validated for the Portuguese reality. The team behind this proposal will conduct the qualitative study, which centres on exploratory case studies of the 21 companies taking part in the pilot project. The interviews with management and employees will closely follow the questionnaire surveys carried out over the 12 months of the pilot project, with the aim of exploring the quantitative information collected in these questionnaires (which are essentially made up of closed questions). It is also planned to collect documentary information produced by the companies as part of the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the pilot project. The results of the exploratory studies will be decisive in supporting the longitudinal case studies (specific objective (ii)). In these longitudinal case studies, it is planned to apply a questionnaire survey to each company (a total of 17) at the end of 12 months of applying the measure, based on the questionnaire surveys applied during the pilot, with the necessary adaptations. . It is also planned to carry out interviews that will closely follow the interview scripts conducted as part of the exploratory case studies in order to realise the innovative dimension of this project related to capturing the trends and changes that have occurred over time in companies with a 4-day working week, something that has not been done in scientific research on the subject.
In order to realise these objectives, the knowledge and skills of the team with extensive experience in case study methodology are essential. On the other hand, team members with experience in quantitative methods make it possible to implement mixed methods by triangulating interpretative analysis with measurement of the phenomena observed in the companies. It is hoped to produce a qualitative and quantitative analysis of whether the positive, negative and neutral results of this measure endure or disappear over time, how and in what ways, in order to draw lessons for building recommendations on the implementation of this measure in companies and organisations from different sectors of economic activity.
Final beneficiaries/target-population: Organizations, workers and society in general.
Timetable: February 2025 - August 2026
