The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland
Can the voluntary reduction of working hours as a sufficiency practice promote more environmentally sustainable forms of consumption along with human well-being? In this exploratory study conducted at the end of 2018 in Western Switzerland, we use the social practices and systems of provision approa...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956055/full |
| _version_ | 1811241412853760000 |
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| author | Marlyne Sahakian Clémentine Rossier |
| author_facet | Marlyne Sahakian Clémentine Rossier |
| author_sort | Marlyne Sahakian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Can the voluntary reduction of working hours as a sufficiency practice promote more environmentally sustainable forms of consumption along with human well-being? In this exploratory study conducted at the end of 2018 in Western Switzerland, we use the social practices and systems of provision approaches and a definition of well-being based on human need satisfaction to answer this question in the context of an affluent country where women typically work-part-time after the arrival of children due to limited family policies. In-depth interviews with people in couples, with families, where men have also voluntarily engaged in work time reduction (WTR) (n = 14), indicate that some do indeed simultaneously enjoy a high level of well-being, while limiting consumption and ecological impact. However, these are almost exclusively couples with high cultural and social capital who have adopted non-consumerist and gender egalitarian norms, despite the “culture of affluence” that dominates in Swiss society. Moreover, truly resource-sufficient lifestyles seem to be possible only for people who live in settings that offer ecological options by default, thus emphasizing the importance of systems of provision that make some forms of consumption and well-being more probable and possible than others. The article therefore argues that sufficiency as a practice must go beyond personal motivations to consider the societal conditions that support sustainable well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:35:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab18fca3907242c182216c9884b8e95b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:35:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab18fca3907242c182216c9884b8e95b2022-12-22T03:31:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainability2673-45242022-10-01310.3389/frsus.2022.956055956055The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western SwitzerlandMarlyne SahakianClémentine RossierCan the voluntary reduction of working hours as a sufficiency practice promote more environmentally sustainable forms of consumption along with human well-being? In this exploratory study conducted at the end of 2018 in Western Switzerland, we use the social practices and systems of provision approaches and a definition of well-being based on human need satisfaction to answer this question in the context of an affluent country where women typically work-part-time after the arrival of children due to limited family policies. In-depth interviews with people in couples, with families, where men have also voluntarily engaged in work time reduction (WTR) (n = 14), indicate that some do indeed simultaneously enjoy a high level of well-being, while limiting consumption and ecological impact. However, these are almost exclusively couples with high cultural and social capital who have adopted non-consumerist and gender egalitarian norms, despite the “culture of affluence” that dominates in Swiss society. Moreover, truly resource-sufficient lifestyles seem to be possible only for people who live in settings that offer ecological options by default, thus emphasizing the importance of systems of provision that make some forms of consumption and well-being more probable and possible than others. The article therefore argues that sufficiency as a practice must go beyond personal motivations to consider the societal conditions that support sustainable well-being.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956055/fullsufficiencysustainable consumptionwell-beingSwitzerlandvoluntary work time reduction |
| spellingShingle | Marlyne Sahakian Clémentine Rossier The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland Frontiers in Sustainability sufficiency sustainable consumption well-being Switzerland voluntary work time reduction |
| title | The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland |
| title_full | The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland |
| title_fullStr | The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland |
| title_full_unstemmed | The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland |
| title_short | The societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction: Results of a pilot study in Western Switzerland |
| title_sort | societal conditions for achieving sufficiency through voluntary work time reduction results of a pilot study in western switzerland |
| topic | sufficiency sustainable consumption well-being Switzerland voluntary work time reduction |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956055/full |
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