Business success is no longer defined solely by financial performance or the quality of goods and services provided. It is imperative for companies to embed sustainability into their strategic frameworks, embracing socially and environmentally responsible practices. Businesses must now prioritize aligning profit with ethical and sustainable practices that enhance lives, protect the environment, and foster inclusive communities.
In this new mindset, work focuses on growth as well as output, redefining productivity around well-being and sustainability in a people-centered “productive revolution.”
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) offer new ways of organizing work, helping companies use their resources more effectively. It is through intelligent automation that many repetitive, low-value tasks can be eliminated, freeing up time for more strategic and creative activities. This makes it possible to reduce working hours without compromising, and indeed improving, both productivity and competitiveness.
At the same time, AI plays a fundamental role in knowledge management (KM), due to its ability to collect, analyze, and organize large volumes of data, enabling the creation, sharing, and preservation of knowledge within companies.
The reduction of working hours is increasingly central to the debate on the future of work, closely linked to the issue of work-life balance. Improving the balance between private and professional life has become a priority for many companies. What experiences such as the “4 Days Week” have demonstrated in various European countries is that they can bring tangible benefits: greater well-being, motivation, productivity, and improved talent retention.
The present study aims to explore the role of AI in transforming work models, focusing in particular on the effects of reducing working hours on productivity and knowledge management. The analysis will be carried out through a theoretical-documentary research approach, based on an integrated review of scientific literature, institutional reports, and national and international business cases, with particular reference to the themes of artificial intelligence, productivity, and knowledge management.