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Working time
Updated: 27 August 2026
Working life research
Jorge Cabrita
Jorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the dissemination of findings in the areas of working conditions and industrial relations. His main research areas of interest include working conditions and job quality, working time and work–life balance, workers’ health and well-being, gender equality and the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a climate-neutral economy. He is currently leading research on working time developments and on social dialogue and collective bargaining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Centre for Studies for Social Intervention and at the Research Centre on the Portuguese Economy of the Lisbon School of Economics, and as a trainer and consultant in the areas of strategic management, organisational communication, leadership and team building. He holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Socio-Organisational Systems of Economic Activity from the Lisbon School of Economics.
Topics of expertise
Jorge is an expert in the following topics.
Research outputs
Jorge is the author of the following publications.
Events, podcast and blog
Jorge has contributed the following events, blog posts and podcast episodes.
In-person event
Own event
Working in the age of AI – How are working conditions changing across Europe?
Event recording available
DateTuesday, 21 April 2026
LocationBrussels, European Parliament
This event is in the past
15 December 2025
Podcast episode
What future for green jobs in Europe?
This episode of Eurofound Talks looks at the role of green jobs in Europe’s economic, social and environmental future. Mary McCaughey, Jorge Cabrita, and Martina Bisello, Expert on Sustainability Transitions and Justice at the European Environment Agency, discuss how tackling climate change is not merely an environmental policy goal but a fundamental necessity for maintaining job quality and economic stability across Europe.
16 October 2024
Podcast episode
Is climate change making work more dangerous in Europe?
Climate change is a reality in our everyday lives in Europe. Workers experience the effects of climate change and climate change policy in many ways, both directly and indirectly, from working in heat and experiencing greater exposure to UV radiation, to new occupational safety and health risks and the need for training and re-skilling.In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Agnès Parent-Thirion, Tina Weber and Jorge Cabrita about the extent to which climate change is already influencing working conditions and the labour market in Europe, the role of the green transition, and how policy can help protect workers and safeguard workplaces.
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22 November 2023
Blog post
Healthy social dialogue for a healthy healthcare sector
The COVID-19 pandemic made us acutely aware of how dependent our society is on certain essential workers. We felt deep gratitude towards workers in healthcare especially, because they worked ceaselessly in often-difficult conditions. But this most valued of sectors is in danger of failing society’s needs in the future because of growing labour shortages. Working conditions in healthcare are increasingly challenging, pushing highly qualified staff out of the sector and deterring new entrants. How to tackle this bleak situation? Social dialogue and collective bargaining played a crucial role in ensuring the effective functioning of hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Could social dialogue be the solution to maintaining and building a health sector workforce for the 3D transition (digitalisation, decarbonisation and the demographic shift)?
24 October 2023
Podcast episode
How did Europe treat its essential workers?
In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Jorge Cabrita about new research that highlights poor job quality - including high emotional demands, working at high speed and to tight deadlines - among several of the sectors and professions deemed essential, key or critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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8 March 2023
Podcast episode
The work-life challenges of women and men
In this episode of Eurofound Talks, recorded for International Women's Day 2023, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Working Life researchers Jorge Cabrita and Viginta Ivaškaitė-Tamošiūnė about how, when paid and unpaid work are combined, women do eight full-time weeks more work than men per year, and the broader implications of this for society. They also discuss how indicators of work-life balance and work-life conflict differ for women and men, as well as the policy action that can be taken to improve gender equality in Europe.
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31 March 2020
Blog post
COVID-19 intensifies emotional demands on healthcare workers
Health professionals – doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, paramedics, ambulance workers – are in the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19. They are the ones dealing with sick people, triaging, testing and treating them. They are the ones confronting suffering and death. While some of their colleagues have already lost their lives in this battle, health professionals worldwide are emphasising the impact the mounting number of COVID-19 cases is having on their mental health.
1 November 2017
Blog post
Rethinking working time in Europe
The results of recent research on working time patterns in the EU constitute a strong plea for working time policies that clearly acknowledge the life course perspective. This means that working time must not only be thought and organised in daily, weekly, monthly and/or yearly terms but also take into full consideration the different stages of our lives.
4 March 2016
Blog post
The importance of collective bargaining in establishing working time in Europe
Nowadays we all know that long or excessive working hours may have serious negative impacts on a person’s health and wellbeing. Eurofound‘s new report 'Working time developments in the 21st century' suggests that if working time standards are mainly left to legislation or to be set unilaterally by employers, people will still tend to work longer hours. On the contrary, if the working time standards are negotiated through collective bargaining, the likely negative impact is less as people tend to work fewer hours on average.
Other unit members: Working life research
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