Uses of Time

»At the meeting, discussions were held on which key aspects to work on this year, while strengthening the bonds between the member entities of the impulse group and the Barcelona City Council.

On April 8th, the Commitment to Public Service Room hosted the first meeting of the year of the Time Pact Impulse Group. With various topics on the table, the 12 member entities that attended the meeting, all from different sectors of activities, worked on the planning and development of this year’s 2024 strategy. 

The session began with a welcome from Sonia Ruiz, Director of Gender and Time Policy Services, who did farewell after 8 years in the position, thanking everyone present in the room for their shared time. 

Next, the calendar of planned activities for the year was presented, with special emphasis on activities such as the “Summer School of Time Policies,” two short-formative sessions, and the Annual Meeting of Time Pact entities. 

The Barcelona City Council’s Gender and Time Policy Services Directorate and the Time Use Initiative (TUI) presented the “Summer School on Time Policies,” a project aimed at offering conceptual and practical debates on time policies and the right to time, promoting critical reflection from a perspective of equity, well-being, and sustainability. The School, which will take place from June 10th to 14th, will feature an online format organized by the Time Use Initiative aimed at civil society (with sessions from June 10th to 12th) and two days (June 13th and 14th) in a face-to-face format organized by the Barcelona City Council aimed at public officials of local entities and municipal technical staff. 

As for the training sessions, the content of the next module “Time and Childhood” was presented. This module, which will be carried out in collaboration with the Barcelona Institute of Childhood and Adolescence, is scheduled for late May. There was also information on training for better organization and distribution of time use, which, at the request of the Barcelona Cuida service, will be provided for household workers who perform both paid and unpaid care work. 

In this regard, member entities highlighted the need for training on digital disconnection, as although the module “Towards an operational protocol for digital disconnection in organizations” has already been conducted, there is a need to address other related topics of interest, such as the chrono-city, the 4-day workweek, etc. 

Another point addressed was the content of the upcoming Annual Meeting of Time Pact entity members, scheduled for November 2024. This next meeting, resulting from the consolidation of previous meetings in 2022 and 2023, aims to offer a more participatory format. Throughout the day, various interactive dynamics will be conducted aimed at the attending entities so that they can develop and implement tools for better organization of working time within their entities. 

Finally, entities had a space to exchange projects and experiences focused on time management. Reflections were made on the challenges posed by the implementation of time policies, especially regarding the different rhythms of development and implementation of these policies between public administration and organizations. One of the highlighted topics was the implementation of the 37.5-hour workweek and its effects on work and organizational dynamics. 

The day allowed for the exchange of ideas and proposals around time policies with the aim of promoting and continuing to work towards fostering a healthier, more equitable, efficient, and sustainable time organization.