The return of working time reduction: quality of life, productivity and new forms of reward

This text examines recent Italian experiences of reducing working hours in the light of the long trade-union struggle of the last century for the reduction of the working week and in the context of the resumption of interventions to reduce working hours reported in recent years in several European countries and, more in general, in Western economies. The reflexive experience of the pandemic and the new visibility assumed by the matter of subjectivity in the relationship with work have certainly contributed to this relaunch, bringing the issue of the quality of working life back to the foreground, especially among young people. However, the unions ‒ with the notable exception of German metalworkers ‒ appeared to be in difficulty in regaining leadership of the movement due to the fragmentation of working hours that has characterized the last few decades (to the point of a true polarisation, in terms of hours worked, between poor involuntary part-time workers and high-skilled workers prone to overwork). The fundamental actors of the recovery were instead the companies, concerned about the evident imbalance (demographic but also cultural) in the labor market of some occupations and aware of the need to attract and retain resources, especially young people, through new benefits and welfare policies.

Keywords: Time, Working Hours, Quality of Working Life, Industrial Relations, Unions, Reward Policies

Anna M. Ponzellini, La ripresa delle politiche di riduzione dell’orario di lavoro. Qualità della vita, produttività e nuove forme di ricompensa in "ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE " 3/2024, pp 27-45, DOI: 10.3280/ES2024-003003