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Partner Spotlight 3/15: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

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We are thrilled to introduce our coordinating organisation, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). 🌍✨

About VUB

The TOR research unit within the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel‘s Department of Sociology is renowned for its research on time use and temporal structures. Established in 1982, the TOR unit explores sociological themes such as education, culture, youth, life courses, and the balance between work and family life. The unit excels in both fundamental and applied research and has significant methodological expertise in measuring and analyzing time use.

VUB’s role in WinWin4WorkLife

In the WinWin4WorkLife project, the TOR research unit leads the study on the time impacts of remote working arrangements (RWA) on work-life balance and quality of time use. They contribute to developing a web questionnaire and time diary for employees, analyzing remote working experiences in terms of frequency, flexibility, work-life balance, health, and well-being.

Remote Work Experience

Francisca Mullens from VUB shares her remote work experience:

“I practice hybrid working, typically working from home one or two days a week. During the COVID-19 pandemic, full-time remote working as a PhD felt isolating at times. However, hybrid work offers a balance, allowing for both productivity and personal well-being.”

Francisca Mullens

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀!
#𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗪𝗶𝗻𝟰𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 #𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 #𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 #𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 #𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗥

Photo of the VUB building
What is VUB (TOR research unit)? The TOR research unit at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel's Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies, Department of Sociology, traces its origins to the TOR Research Group established in 1982. Initially focused on time use research and temporal structures in modern society, the unit now conducts both fundamental and applied research across various sociological themes including education, culture, youth, life courses, civil society, and the interplay of work and family dynamics. Time use research remains central, with a methodological expertise developed since the 1990s contributing to European guidelines under EUROSTAT's Harmonized European Time Use Surveys (HETUS) task force. The unit has conducted extensive time use surveys, including significant projects in Belgium using the Modular Online Time Use Survey (MOTUS) platform. Research also explores temporal conflicts in daily life actions, influencing areas such as perceived time pressure, work-life balance, and societal organization. The TOR unit's contributions span numerous publications, reports, and collaborations with organizations like the World Bank and UN Women, alongside partnerships in international research networks and projects on societal temporal organization and remote work dynamics.
VUB's role in #WW4WL The TOR research unit within the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies at the Department of Sociology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel will lead the study of time impacts of intensity of RWA on work-life balance and quality of time use. To do so, the TOR research unit will contribute to the development of a web questionnaire related to the employee circumstances, remote working experiences and practices, well-being and health, and a time diary for one day of work in the office and one day of working remotely combined with ecological momentary assessment (EMA). The survey data will allow the analyses and understanding of regular remote working experiences in terms of frequency, regularity, flexibility both in time and location as well as impacts on work-life balance and health in terms of loneliness, digital skills, attitudes and perceptions vis-à-vis remote work. The time-diary and EMA data will allow the analyses and understanding of daily experience of remote working in terms of time impacts of remote working as well as momentary impact of remote working in terms of stress, productivity and loneliness. In doing so, the TOR research unit contributes to understanding the interrelation between remote working experiences and impacts and the work and private life spheres.