Temporal Welfare & Ecological Sustainability

The workshop Temporal Welfare & Ecological Sustainability brings together researchers working at the intersection of temporal welfare, time allocation, and ecological sustainability. It aims to develop a shared research agenda by identifying key research gaps, exploring conceptual and empirical approaches, and fostering collaboration across disciplines.

The workshop will begin by taking stock of existing knowledge and open questions. Short thematic inputs by participants will provide different perspectives on the field and serve as a starting point for collective brainstorming. In a second step, participants will work in small groups to develop specific research questions, explore empirical approaches, and identify opportunities for joint research outputs and future collaboration.

The group work will focus on four interconnected thematic areas:

• Conceptualising and measuring temporal welfare: Concepts, dimensions, indicators, and empirical approaches to time poverty, time wealth, and temporal inequalities.
• Time allocation and everyday practices: Working time, care, leisure, consumption, mobility, and the determinants and consequences of different time-use patterns.
• Temporal welfare and ecological sustainability: Links between time use, consumption, energy use, mobility, and other ecological impacts, including potential time-use rebound effects.
• Temporal inequalities and socio-ecological transformation: Gender, income, household and life-course differences, and the institutional conditions shaping more sustainable and time-rich ways of living.

These themes are intended as starting points rather than fixed categories. Participants are encouraged to connect different areas, develop questions across themes, and propose related perspectives.

Who Should Attend?

The workshop is aimed at researchers interested in temporal welfare, time use, ecological economics, and sustainability, as well as scholars studying social inequalities and socio-ecological transformation. It offers an opportunity to exchange ideas, develop research questions, and explore potential collaborations.

Programme: Day 1 – Monday, 2 November 2026

09:00–09:30 — Registration & Coffee

09:30–11:00 — Mapping the Field: Knowledge Gaps & Research Questions

• Presentation of workshop goals and format
• Short thematic inputs by workshop participants
• Collective brainstorming
• Identification of key research gaps and questions

11:00–11:15 — Coffee Break

11:15–12:30 — Small-Group Work I: Framing Research Questions
Participants form small groups around shared interests and develop specific research questions, identifying relevant conceptual and empirical approaches.

12:30–13:30 — Lunch Break

13:30–15:00 — Small-Group Work II: Developing Research Ideas
Groups explore selected research questions in greater depth, considering theoretical perspectives, data and methods, empirical cases, and comparative approaches.

15:00–15:15 — Coffee Break

15:15–16:00 — Small-Group Work III: From Research Ideas to Collaboration
Groups discuss potential outputs and forms of collaboration, such as joint papers, empirical projects, comparative research, datasets, and future funding proposals.

16:00–16:45 — Collective Reflection & Feedback

From 18:00 — Social Dinner

Programme: Day 2 – Tuesday, 3 November 2026

09:00–09:30 — Review of Day 1
A brief recap of the main questions and ideas emerging from the first day.

09:30–11:00 — Small-Group Work IV: Consolidating Research Agendas
Groups continue working on their selected research ideas and develop them into more concrete research agendas, potential collaborations, or draft outputs.

11:00–11:15 — Coffee Break

11:15–12:30 — Collective Reflection & Wrap-up

• Presentation of group results
• Discussion of cross-cutting themes and connections
• Identification of potential joint activities and next steps

12:30–13:30 — Optional Lunch and Departure