Brussels Briefing: What is flexible working doing to our working lives?
10:00 – 12:30 Europe/ Brussels
Résidence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, 1040, Brussels, BE
Is flexible working giving people greater control over their working lives, or simply making it harder to switch off? As part of its #BrusselsBriefings series, Eurofound hosts an off-the-record, in-person discussion on 8 October 2026, 10:00 - 12:30 Brussels time, to present new findings from its research report: Working anytime, anywhere: The quality of working time in the EU.
Event background
Is flexible working giving people greater control over their working lives, or simply making it harder to switch off?
Join us for an off-the-record, in-person briefing with Eurofound’s research expert Oscar Vargas for an inside look at the latest evidence on how flexible working is changing working time across Europe.
Eurofound's recent report, Working anytime, anywhere: The quality of working time in the EU shows that flexible working has become a permanent feature of working life, with at least one in five EU employees teleworking or having flexitime arrangements in 2024.
While greater autonomy and telework are generally associated with better working-time quality, improved work–life balance and lower burnout, it can come at a cost. Risks remain including longer hours, working during free time, irregular schedules and pressure to remain available outside working hours.
At the briefing, Oscar explores what these findings tell us about the future of working time, examining whether the benefits of flexibility are being shared equally, why women continue to experience greater work-family interference, and how digitalisation is blurring the boundaries between work and rest. He will also discuss the growing policy focus on working-time recording and the right to disconnect across Europe.
Following a short presentation, an open Q&A and exchange of views commences with the audience, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly with Oscar on the research, its implications and the policy choices ahead.
Agenda
Contact
Attendance is by invitation only. For any queries about the briefing, please contact Cristina Arigho.
Cristina Arigho
Senior Communication ManagerCristina Arigho is Senior Communications Manager and Stakeholder engagement and Promotions Lead in the Information and Communication unit at Eurofound, having joined the Agency in 2012. Previously, she spent almost 20 years in Brussels working in various roles, many of them at the European Commission, including as spokesperson for DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (2010–2012) and for DG Budget (2007–2009). Before joining the Commission’s spokesperson’s service, she was press officer at DG Employment (2005–2007) and speech writer for the Commissioner and Director General at the time (2003–2005). Prior to her years at the Commission, she worked for RTÉ radio and television (Irish national television) in Brussels as a production assistant and researcher, and later as news producer. Cristina is a graduate in Applied Languages from the University of Ulster at Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Speakers
Oscar Vargas Llave
Senior research managerOscar Vargas Llave is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and manages projects on changes in the world of work and the impact on working conditions and related policies: organisation of working time, remote work, the right to disconnect, health and well-being and ageing. Before joining Eurofound in December 2009, he worked as project coordinator in the field of health and safety and was responsible for the Professional Card Scheme for the Construction Sector in Spain at the non-profit Fundación Laboral de la Construcción in Madrid. He has a background in industrial sociology (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca), and also holds a Diploma in Social Science Research Methods from the University of Cardiff and a Master’s degree in Health and Safety from the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Working anytime, anywhere: The quality of working time in the EU
This research report examines how flexible working arrangements in the EU affect working time quality, autonomy and employee well-being, comparing recent developments with a decade ago. It analyses differences across skill levels, sectors and Member States, and assesses the role of regulations and policies such as the right to disconnect.Working anytime, anywhere: The quality of working time in the EU
This research report examines how flexible working arrangements in the EU affect working time quality, autonomy and employee well-being, comparing recent developments with a decade ago. It analyses differences across skill levels, sectors and Member States, and assesses the role of regulations and policies such as the right to disconnect.Series: Brussels briefings
Eurofound's Brussels Briefings are off-the-record, in-person sessions designed for insightful exchanges. Meet Eurofound experts to discuss the latest developments on the Brussels agenda in an informal setting.
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