The Faculty of Economics at the University of Valencia hosted on September 4 the defense of the doctoral dissertation by Joan Sanchis Muñoz, entitled “Transforming Work-Time Reduction Ideas: Advocacy Coalitions and Four-Day Work-Week Public Policies in Spain, Portugal, and the UK”. The research offers a comparative analysis of public policies aimed at reducing working time in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, with special focus on the proposals for a four-day working week.

One of the main conclusions of the thesis is that the four-day work week initiative has introduced new arguments in favor of reducing working hours. Among others, the right to time is presented as a central axis of this new proposal, with important implications regarding the impact that greater availability of free time may have on the activities of the cultural and creative sectors. The study, supervised by professors Raúl de Arriba Bueno and Josep Banyuls Llopis, is part of the Doctoral Program in Social Sciences at UV. The thesis identifies the coalitions of actors that have promoted working time reduction policies in the three countries analyzed, providing evidence to understand the political and social conditions that facilitate their implementation. For Sanchis, the four-day work week opens “a window of opportunity” to advance toward a new social contract, which can prove beneficial for both companies and workers. In this regard, he highlights that pilot programs in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the Valencian Region have already shown benefits in productivity, well-being, and talent attraction. With this new doctoral dissertation, Sanchis provides an empirical and comparative basis to assess the evolution of public policies on working time reduction. His work not only contributes to academic knowledge, but also becomes a useful guide for governments and institutions seeking to implement evidence-based policies. Joan Sanchis has been an active collaborator of Econcult since 2015 and has participated in several research projects.