Good Practice
RIGHT TO TIME: DECALOGUE AND 55PROPOSALS FOR A BALANCEDORGANIZATION OF WORKING TIME
By placing the right to time at the centre, the policy strengthens both social cohesion and economic competitiveness in the metropolitan area.
POLICY OBJECTIVE
Policy objectives are:
- Promote work–life balance and equality of opportunities, ensuring that all workers can harmonize professional, personal, and family responsibilities.
- Encourage shared responsibility between men and women in care and domestic tasks, reducing gender inequalities in time use.
- Improve productivity and efficiency in companies by reorganizing working time through flexible schedules, objective-based work, and rationalization of long working days.
- Ensure healthier working conditions, preventing stress, time poverty, and health risks linked to irregular schedules, long hours, or night shifts.
- Support digital disconnection and responsible teleworking, fostering autonomy, reducing burnout, and safeguarding workers’ mental health.
- Promote collective bargaining and participation, encouraging agreements between employers and workers to adapt time management measures to each sector and company.
- Foster innovation and training, using technology, data collection, and awareness raising actions to improve time management practices.
- Contribute to sustainability and mobility efficiency, by reducing unnecessary commuting and encouraging more rational use of time in urban areas.
- Enhance social cohesion and economic competitiveness, positioning the metropolitan area as a model region that values time as a key resource for well being and prosperity.
CONTEXT
In the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, working time has long been characterized by late endings, long lunch breaks, widespread unpaid overtime, and a strong culture of
presenteeism. These practices have generated stress, time poverty, and difficulties in balancing work and personal life, with women disproportionately affected due to
unequal care responsibilities.
At the same time, companies have faced lower productivity, higher absenteeism, difficulties in retaining talent, and limited adaptability to global competitiveness.
Recognising this situation, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) identified the need to act and place the right to time at the centre of public and organisational policies. However, real impact requires the involvement of the economic sector and companies themselves, as they directly shape working time practices.
For this reason, AMB has developed two practical tools: the Guide with 55 proposals and the Decalogue of recommendations. Both are designed to inspire and support
companies and organisations in adopting balanced and rational time management measures. The objective is to encourage businesses to lead this transformation, improving workers’ well-being, gender equality, and social cohesion, while at the same time strengthening productivity, innovation, and competitiveness across the
metropolitan economy.
POLICY DESCRIPTION
The policy has been implemented by the AMB as a set of practical tools addressed to the economic sector and companies, with the aim of promoting a balanced and rational organisation of working time. It consists of two complementary instruments:
- The Guide with 55 Proposals, which provides a wide range of concrete measures grouped in ten key areas: flexible schedules, work by objectives, rationalisation of long working days, support for work–life balance, teleworking and digital disconnection, healthier time management, collective bargaining, and training.
- The Decalogue of Recommendations, a shorter and more accessible tool that summarises the most relevant actions, designed for quick consultation and easy
adoption by companies.
The implementation process is based on awareness-raising, guidance, and practical support for organisations. The documents are written in clear and pedagogical
language, making them useful both for companies already working on time management and for those starting this transformation. AMB disseminates the
materials through its networks, partnerships with employers’ associations and trade unions, and direct collaboration with metropolitan companies.
The policy does not impose obligations but encourages voluntary adoption of measures adapted to each company’s size, sector, and specific needs. By providing concrete examples and evidence-based benefits, the policy creates incentives for companies to implement change. In this way, it helps businesses align with emerging labour trends, improve productivity and talent retention, and contribute to social well-being and gender equality.
KEY ASPECTS
- Voluntary adoption by companies: The policy is designed as a supportive framework, not an obligation, which requires the active engagement of businesses willing to improve their time organization practices.
- Adaptability to different sectors and company sizes: The guide and the decalogue offer flexible measures that can be tailored to small, medium, and large enterprises across diverse economic activities.
- Holistic approach: Goes beyond work–life balance by addressing productivity, gender equality, digital disconnection, health, mobility, and sustainability.
- Evidence-based proposals: Built on data and international references, the policy identifies structural problems in Spain and Catalonia (long days, unpaid overtime, time poverty) and provides practical solutions.
- Ten pillars of action: The measures are organised around ten strategic areas (flexible work, rationalised schedules, collective bargaining, training, etc.) to facilitate structured implementation.
- Awareness and capacity-building: Materials are written in clear language to raise awareness and provide training for managers and workers, fostering a culture of time as a strategic resource.
- Innovation in governance: It positions a metropolitan authority (AMB) as a pioneer in promoting the right to time as a public policy linked to social cohesion and economic competitiveness.
- Promotion of digital disconnection: Introduces innovative measures to regulate working time in the digital era, ensuring healthier boundaries between work and personal life.
- Support for gender equality: Recognises unpaid care work and proposes measures that foster shared responsibility between men and women.
- Dual tool strategy: The combination of a detailed 55-proposal guide and a concise Decalogue makes the policy both comprehensive and accessible, encouraging
broader uptake by the business community.
RESULTS
The Guide and the Decalogue have been distributed to the 36 municipalities of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, ensuring that local governments integrate them into their economic development strategies. They have also been delivered to the Offices of Business Support and to several business associations, reaching a wide range of
companies across different sectors. This dissemination has positioned the materials as a reference framework for improving working time organisation in the metropolitan economy.
Qualitatively, the initiative has fostered dialogue between public administrations, employers, and workers on issues such as work–life balance, digital disconnection, and gender equality. By placing the right to time on the business agenda, AMB has promoted cultural change and inspired companies to experiment with more innovative
and sustainable time practices.