In recent years, working time has become increasingly polarized in terms of who works how much, when, and where. This shift is driven by structural, institutional, and demographic changes, as well as exogenous shocks—most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this backdrop, the session aims to stimulate a discussion on the methodological challenges and promises of old and new measurements for working hours.

How accurate are standardized survey questions on “hours usually worked” when employees work remotely, flexible hours, have zero-hour or multiple contracts, or are paid based on output rather than hours? For which groups of workers do standard survey questions produce more and for which groups less reliable results? How can these challenges be overcome? Can digital trace data and alternative survey questions help to accurately measure the time people spend on paid (and unpaid) work? What potential do survey experiments have for informing measurement strategies?

Session presentations can cover a broad range of issues in the field of measuring working time. Priority will be given to contributions that a) compare the advantages and shortcomings of different measurement strategies, b) focus on innovative approaches for measuring working time, c) address the peculiarities and challenges of measuring the working time of (specific groups of) nonstandard employees, and d) discuss the potential and problems of different measurement strategies for uncovering inequalities in working time based on gender, class, and race.