Acronym: OPTIME
Title: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF WORK TIME: TOWARD FEASIBLE, INCLUSIVE, AND SUSTAINABLE MODELS OF WORKING TIME REDUCTION IN EUROPE
Call: HORIZON-CL2-2025-01
EU nr: 101289891
Period: 01 Oct 2026 – 30 Sep 2029
Budget : total budget : 3.399.083,51 EUR; VUB budget: 403.971,25 EUR
Contact VUB: Prof. Theun Pieter van Tienoven
At ERIS we got a chance to talk to Theun and asked 4 questions:
- What is the OPTIME project about, and why is working time reduction such a timely issue for Europe today?
OPTIME is the first comparative study that integrates diverse perspectives on different models for working time reduction. Current evidence on WTR is fragmented and consensus on what is and what is not WTR is lacking. OPTIME aims to re-conceptualize how WTR is analyzed and will investigate which models work under what conditions and through what mechanism while at the same time taking national socio-economic contexts into account. It is a timely issue because on a small scale WTR pilots have shown to promote labor market equality and inclusion along different social identities (e.g., gender, age) as well as improve employee well-being and reduce risk of burnout. Labor market equality and inclusion, well-being and burn-out are very timely and pressing issues in modern (Western) societies.
- What makes OPTIME innovative compared to existing research or pilots on working time reduction?
See above. It’s the cross-national comparative set up, the interdisciplinary approach – taking into account social, economic and environmental perspectives – and the multi-model conceptualization of WTR – moving beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all’ debates – that should develop a multi-level framework for research, policy and practice.
- What expertise does VUB bring to the OPTIME consortium, and how does it contribute to the project’s objectives?
The Research Cluster TOR of BRISPO has substantial experience in WRT through the work of former colleague Francisca Mullens who did her PhD on WRT experiment of Femma Wereldvrouwen. Additionally, it has substantial experience on the gender division of labor and gendered labor market participation in cross-national contexts as well as quantifying this using time-diary studies. Within OPTIME, the VUB will lead WP3 on Mapping the Enables and Barriers for WTR based on qualitative and quantitative data collections and producing a cross-national database on WTR. The VUB will also lead a small-scale time-diary study to examining changes in daily routines, time use and quality of time as a result of WTR arrangements.
- What kind of societal and policy impact does OPTIME aim to achieve in the long term?
One of the objectives is to generate evidence based on social, economic and environmental impacts of WTR in terms of impacts on employees and inclusion of underrepresented and vulnerable groups. Combine with the investigation of implementation strategies of WTR and a visioning strategy for the future of WTR this should culminate in comprehensive evidence-based policies for a sustainable implementation of WTR.