All episodes

Reducing working hours is a phenomenon that started in the 20th century. The third and final episode of this mini-series focuses on science. At the University of Münster, Germany, Julia Backmann and her team research the impact of the four-day-work week. She has conducted an experiment with dozens of organizations that have reduced working hours. Her results are in favor of this model and in line with studies all around the world. Reducing working hours may be a challenge at first, but not only workers but also employers can benefit from it.

For Giorgos Valasis a regular work week consists of 6 days. After his shift as a bus driver in Athens he finds himself constantly exhausted. He’s frightened by the fact that his government passed a law to enable 13 hours per day. While Giorgios and a lot of his working colleges take this fight into the streets of Athens to prevent the liberalisation of working hours, a German CEO changed his company to four-day-working-week. In this second episode, Carsten Graf tells his story of how he has changed the structure of his business and what has changed since then.

Questioning working time has always been a big issue for both workers and employers. In a three-part series of We Work Europe, we take a closer look at different models. The first episode follows the Greek government’s attempt to increase working time. It’s purpose is to fight the shortage of skilled workforce as well as undeclared work. Deputy minister of labour and social security, Konstantinos Karagkounis, explains how changed legislation might bring new opportunities to its country. On the other hand there is Antonis Karras, president of one of Greece’s largest trade unions DAKE, an EZA member. He believes new...

What happens when you wait 25 years for EU membership – and are still told you’re not ready? In this episode, we look at Bosnia and Herzegovina, where hopes for accession remain high but frustrations are growing.
We hear from politicians and experts about stalled reforms, mass emigration, and the risk of losing the country’s future to other powers. Can Bosnia still find its place in the European Union – and what lessons can be drawn from past enlargements?

On his 34th birthday in 1989, Dr. Konstantin Trenchev helped found Bulgaria’s first independent trade union – PODKREPA. What began as a small act of defiance soon turned into a movement that shaped Bulgaria’s path to democracy and EU accession.
In this episode, we revisit the turbulent years around the fall of communism, the struggles of early trade unionists, and the promises and pitfalls of Bulgaria’s journey into the European Union. What lessons remain from this era – and how do they echo in today’s Europe?

What happens when the promise of prosperity in the EU doesn’t match reality?
In this first episode, we start in Sofia, Bulgaria, where strikes and low wages reveal the frustrations of many citizens. We hear from journalists, union leaders, and researchers about the struggles of EU integration, the rising cost of living, and why the expected “convergence” never fully arrived.
Join us as we explore the hopes, challenges, and disappointments of countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 – and ask whether their concerns are justified, and what trade unions and politics can do today.

In the final episode of "Inside Gen Z," we explore how trade unions are working to engage young people in the labor market. Despite a general lack of awareness about unions among youth, initiatives like the CNV's youth department in the Netherlands and Krifa's TikTok presence in Denmark aim to attract younger members. Through real-life examples, including the successful unionization of Starbucks employees, we see the power of social media and grassroots movements. Experts emphasize the importance of listening to Gen Z's demands and collaborating with them to create a better future for all workers.

The second episode of "Inside Gen Z" delves into common prejudices, such as the belief that Gen Z is lazy or unwilling to work. Contrary to these stereotypes, studies reveal that Gen Z is actually more committed and engaged than previous generations. Experts like Helle Stenbro and Wouter Vandenabeele discuss the origins of these misconceptions and emphasize the importance of understanding individual life stages over broad generational labels. Tune in to explore the complexities of Gen Z and the impact of stereotypes in the workplace.

In the first episode of "Inside Gen Z", a three-part series by We Work Europe, you will meet Barbara Mogensen, a 22-year-old student from Denmark, who shares her own journey, including her recent departure from a part-time job in the software industry and her commitment to her podcast "Espresso Yourself", where she interviews various professionals about their career paths. This episode explores Generation Z's desire for meaningful work, the criticism they face and the evolving job market. Marketing experts Eileen Droß and Michelle Muller highlight the need for companies to adapt to attract young talent and the importance of cross-generational...

In the last instalment of our three-part series on sexualised violence in the workplace, we take a look at the legislation and why things have changed recently. We talk to Victor Hugo Ricco from the ILO about Convention 190, which for the first time addresses sexualised violence in the workplace internationally. And we talk to Evin Incir from the EU Parliament about the directive on gender-based violence against women from April 2024. Both pieces of legislation are categorised at the end from a trade union perspective.