Project description
Evidence for the future of working time reduction in Europe
Europe faces growing pressure to redesign working time in ways that strengthen economic competitiveness while improving well-being, inclusion, and environmental sustainability. The EU-funded Four4All project is providing a rigorous, cross-national assessment of the feasibility, impacts, and barriers to scaling working time reduction across diverse European contexts. Drawing on the world's largest consolidated four-day work week dataset, together with new case studies, macroeconomic modelling, and a multilingual AI-driven survey, Four4All examines the effects of working time reduction on productivity, well-being, inclusion, occupational safety and health, and the environment.
Objective
Europe faces a critical challenge: how to design workplaces that improve wellbeing, strengthen competitiveness, widen labour market inclusion, and support climate goals. Four-day work week pilots have shown strong promise, but evidence remains fragmented and underdeveloped on long-term viability, occupational safety and health, equity, barriers to adoption, and environmental sustainability.
Four4All responds directly to this challenge. It is the first Horizon Europe initiative to deliver a rigorous, cross-national assessment of the feasibility, impacts, pathways, and barriers to scaling working time reduction (WTR) across diverse European contexts.
Our nine-partner, seven-country consortium brings unmatched resources: privileged access to the world’s largest consolidated WTR dataset (~390 SMEs, 12,000 workers), hundreds of under-analysed interviews from past pilots, and new case studies of long-term adopters, failed experiments, a multinational manufacturer, and a major union campaign. Two pioneering contributions set Four4All apart: the first systematic analysis of occupational safety and health under WTR, and a multilingual AI-agent driven survey capturing stakeholder perceptions, barriers, and enablers.
By combining organisational evidence, macroeconomic modelling, case studies, and co-created solutions, Four4All will deliver:
Robust evidence on performance, wellbeing, inclusion, and environmental outcomes;
Macroeconomic scenarios assessing feasibility and trade-offs;
Stakeholder Packs of evidence and toolkits tailored for policymakers, employers, unions, and civil society;
The Four4All Knowledge Hub, a multilingual, AI-enabled platform ensuring long-term visibility and uptake.
Led by world-leading researchers and practitioners who have coordinated national pilots and advised governments and unions, Four4All will equip EU institutions, Member States, and social partners with actionable pathways for inclusive, competitive, and sustainable working time reforms.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences political sciences political policies civil society
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health occupational health
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.2 - Culture, creativity and inclusive society
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.2.3 - Social and Economic Transformations
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL2-2025-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
M5 4WT Salford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.