Uses of Time

On Tuesday 21th of March 2023 from 9.30 a.m. to 12.00 p.m., the award ceremony for the "Barcelona Award for Innovative Company in organisation and uses of time" will be held as part of the conference "The value of changing working times". The event will take place in the Barcelona Activa Auditorium.

In recent years, organisations have increased their efforts to make it easier for workers to manage their time better and at the same time improve the internal organisation of working time. In this new paradigm, Barcelona wants to recognise, promote and disseminate these measures focused on a better balance between work, family and personal time.

The Barcelona Award for the innovative company in the organisation and use of time recognises organisations that have programmes or good practices aimed at gender co-responsibility, balance between personal and professional time, teleworking and organisational change, the right to digital disconnection, shorter working hours, longer maternity and paternity leave, reduced working hours with equal pay, healthy working hours and meals, diversity management and other results of egalitarian time management.

The jury, made up of experts and representatives from the city's relevant economic, business, trade, trade union and academic fields, will award the companies according to their category:

• Micro, companies of less than 10 employees 
• Small, companies with 10 or more employees and up to 50 employees 
• Medium, companies with more than 50 employees and up to 250 employees
• Large, companies with more than 250 employees and above

The awards ceremony will be held as part of the conference "The value of changing working time", to address the impact that time management policies have on companies, but also on people's health and well-being.

The global context and the accelerated changes in the ways of working are generating tensions in the lives of people and companies. Moving towards healthier ways and cultures of working is already a strategic priority for most companies and organisations. And the organisation of working time is a key dimension of this aim.

We will delve into some of the challenges faced by companies that understand that the well-being of people is not an optional "extra", but a basic condition for the health and growth of the organisation itself.

Some of the questions we want to answer:

• How can we organise schedules to facilitate the compatibility of the different dimensions of life, improve levels of personal satisfaction and reduce overload and stress?
• How do we need to promote and guarantee rest, in an environment of digital hyper-connection and a culture that prioritises constant activity?
• How can we generate the relationships of respect, trust and support that people and organisations need to grow?

Dr. Eva Rimbau Gilabert - Professor and researcher in people management at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) - will open the debate.

We will then open a dialogue with human resources managers from companies in different sectors and activities and we will learn about the formulas and measures they are applying to advance these goals.

All of them have a common element: they are based on the desire to seek solutions that take into account both the requirements of the activity and the needs of the organisation and the commitments and preferences of the people who form part of it. Measures that - with increasing evidence - facilitate a "win-win" situation both for the companies and for the people who work in them. And they are also beneficial for the city as a whole.

See the attached programme and to attend just fill in the registration form.