Dear Colleagues,

many challenges ahead of us. The pandemic crisis and its repercussions on employment, the coming climate and ecological apocalypse, the aging population (especially in some areas of the globe). Despite a minority that calls for a radical switch in our way of production, lifestyle and consumption, a large part of the practictioners and researchers believe that these challenges can be faced trhough technological innovation with the hope that somehow, at some point, we'll find solutions withouth compromising how we live today. In between those two fronts, many shades of grey and halfway solutions. Research in all the cases mentioned, is rich and encompasses a broad range of alternatives allowing one to position and build knowledge in the community that more represent his ideals. In all the cases though when it comes to working hours reduction, just few dozens of results pop up. It is impressive , how in the last 40 years management research hasn't focused at all on investigating the possibility of reducing the working hours maintaining a costant pay, seen the increase in annual productivity. Some of the reasons are quite obvious if we look through the lenses of ortodox approaches: increased complexity, power relations, neoliberalism-managerialism etc (I know, this is very superficial and oversimplified but it is just to make sure future respondents to this question won't focus on the things I already know). My question instead would be: why critical management scholars, eterodox economists, did not produce enough and relevant research on the topic except for a few books? To me, with just a spoiled impression on the topic, this could represent a solution to many ecological problems, unemployment, extremy poverty, depression ecc ecc. The pandemic brought back this topic to the spotlight and I would like to write something on that. Maybe trhough an experimental design (I am just at the beginning of the process, this idea is still in Plato's Iperuranio). Would you like to discuss the topic with me? Any idea, research article?

More Giacomo Buzzao's questions See All
Similar questions and discussions