Abstract
With Foucault's problematization analysis this thesis examines the Four-Day Work Week (4DWW), seeking to understand contemporary identities and societal norms as perceived by the 4DWW movement. It is structured around three distinct essays, each offering a unique perspective on the 4DWW as a response to explicit or implicit - political, societal, and organizational - norms related to the problem of working time. Initially, a literature review identifies a prevailing for and against approach in existing literature and advocates for a more investigative stance, delving into the underlying assumptions and justifications for the 4DWW. Subsequently, the methodological section elaborates and operationalizes Foucault's problematization analysis as the guiding methodology, supplementing it with two novel investigative tools. The first essay approaches the subject from a political viewpoint. It examines the apparent conflict between the public's desire for a 4DWW and the Danish government's advocacy for extended working hours. This conflict is analyzed through Foucault's concept of market veridiction from Biopolitikkens fødsel (2009) and the dual concepts of freedom within this framework. Additionally, the essay employs Ove Kaj Pedersen’s distinctions between the welfare state and the competitive state to understand underlying assumptions in justifications for more or less working time, and thus why working time has become a political problem. With Hartmut Rosa's theory of societal acceleration and alienation, the second essay adopts a societal perspective, acknowledging the paradox of having more free time than ever yet feeling time-constrained or stressed. This essay critically assesses whether the 4DWW acts as a countermeasure to societal acceleration or inadvertently contributes to further acceleration and alienation, and thus how working time has become a problem committed to by many Western societies. The third essay examines the 4DWW as a response to challenges in transformative leadership, understanding how the 4DWW is both conditioned by the presupposed individual in transformative leadership and also expands the arenas of self-realization from only belonging to work and organization to also including leisure time. And thus, how working time has become an organizational problem. Overall, this thesis endeavors to philosophically broaden the understanding of the 4DWW beyond researchers identifying implementation challenges or pros and cons arguments, focusing instead on the deeper societal and individual implications. It presents the 4DWW not just as a structural change in work schedules, but as a complex phenomenon intertwined with contemporary identities, societal norms, and political discourse.
Uddannelser | Msc in Business Administration and Philosophy, (Kandidatuddannelse) Afsluttende afhandling |
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Sprog | Engelsk |
Udgivelsesdato | 15 jan. 2024 |
Antal sider | 131 |