Webinar The Political Economy of the Four-Day Week: Public Policies in Spain, Portugal, and the UK
For the European Work-Time Network’s fourth webinar of 2025, we are joined by Joan Sanchis and María Álvarez to discuss the political economy of the four-day week, examining public policies in Spain, Portugal and the UK. The event will be hosted online at 1pm Brussels time on Wednesday 28th May.
Our speakers will deliver a short presentation on the subject, followed by an audience Q&A.
Speakers:
Joan Sanchis is a political economist. He is currently an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Valencia and an affiliated researcher to the British think-tank Autonomy Institute. Throughout his academic and professional career, he has been involved in the design of public and labor policies aimed at encouraging changes in working time. From 2016 to 2023, he served as an advisor to the Department of Sustainable Economy of the Valencian Regional Government. He is the author of the book “Four Days: Working Less to Live in a Better World” published in Catalan and Spanish.
María Álvarez is a Spanish entrepreneur and activist, interested in the social, economic, and technological changes that are redefining the contemporary world, and in how the narratives we tell ourselves about these changes are constructed. She founded the advocacy plattform “4 Day Week Spain” and was the co-founder of La Francachela, a set of restaurants in Madrid where she pioneered a four-day work-week in Spain. She writes for ElDiario.es and her blog Abundancia, where she shares her reflections on the major transformations of recent decades and advocates, among other things, for the decentralization of work and the reduction of working hours.
You will find all informations on the webinar including the Zoom link on our Weezevent page !