New Horizon Europe project brings together researchers, employers and trade unions to examine when and how shorter working hours can be feasible
Trinity Business School is playing a leading role in a new European research project examining the conditions under which reduced working hours can be feasible for employees, employers and society.
WOTAM: Working Time Acceptance Model brings together researchers and social partners from Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Poland. The three-year project was formally launched at a kick-off meeting at Mälardalen University in Sweden on 1 and 2 October 2026.
The project will investigate why working-time reduction is accepted, resisted or implemented differently across sectors and regions. Its findings will provide evidence to inform workplace decisions and policy discussions about the future organisation of work.
WOTAM was featured in Research Ireland’s recent announcement of Horizon Europe Cluster 2 funding successes. Across the call, 15 projects involving Irish-based participants secured almost €5.5 million in funding.
At Trinity, the project is led by Professor Na Fu, Chair of Responsible Leadership at Trinity Business School. Trinity will lead the development and testing of a European survey assessing the acceptance and feasibility of working-time reduction across sectors and regions.
Professor Na Fu said:
“Working-time reduction is often discussed as a simple question of whether a four-day week works or does not work. The reality is much more complex. Different sectors, organisations, employees and countries face very different circumstances.
“Our aim in WOTAM is not to advocate one solution. It is to understand the mechanisms, conditions, barriers and enablers that shape whether different forms of working-time reduction can be feasible. Bringing together researchers, employers and trade unions is critical because these questions cannot be understood from one perspective alone.”
The Irish partnership brings together Trinity College Dublin, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and Ibec. Together, they connect expertise in organisational research and human resource management, labour-market economics, employee representation and business competitiveness.
Trinity contributes expertise in human resource management, digital transformation, work and organisational research. ESRI brings labour-market and economic expertise, while ICTU and Ibec connect the research with employee and employer perspectives.
The research will examine practical factors such as productivity, wellbeing, staffing, costs and organisational conditions. It will also explore how working-time reduction is understood and discussed by employees, employers, trade unions, policymakers and the media.
The project will combine European labour-market and skills data analysis with policy and media analysis, eight in-depth organisational case studies and consultation with more than 40 experts. A European survey will involve at least 1,000 respondents across 10 or more industries.
Findings will inform a Working Time Acceptance Model and a practical stakeholder toolkit to help policymakers, employers and trade unions assess options for working-time reduction in their own contexts.
Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Poland offer contrasting labour-market settings across Western, Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. European funding enables the team to compare Ireland’s experience with these different institutional and cultural contexts, drawing on international data, case studies and collaboration.
Professor Fu added:
“The Irish ecosystem is particularly valuable because we are bringing research, employee and employer perspectives into the same project. ESRI, ICTU, Ibec and Trinity come to the issue from different positions, and that is exactly what WOTAM needs.
“The goal is to create credible evidence that allows people with different perspectives to have a more informed and productive conversation about the future organisation of work.”
About WOTAM
WOTAM: Working Time Acceptance Model runs from 2026 to 2029 and is funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the topic Working time reduction: barriers, challenges, benefits and policy implications (Project no. 101287910).
The project focuses on Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Poland, with its survey, tools and policy implications designed for wider European application.
The consortium includes Mälardalen University, Trinity College Dublin, ESRI, Universidad de Sevilla, Warsaw School of Economics, BluSpecs, the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union, ICTU, DigitalES, the Polish HR Association, Almega and Ibec.