Changes to our way of life during the Covid lockdown accelerated an existing drive for more flexible working opportunities. However, the costs of flexible working requirements have rarely been properly assessed and could extend to undermining growth, increasing unemployment and the rise in...

Using data from the French Labor Force Survey, we show that 21.2% of workers experience an hours gap, meaning they work fewer hours than they would prefer at their current wage. This stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence from Germany, where most workers report being overworked. In France,...