Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024 - 116

João Paulo Dias et al.
but also in their work capacity. These challenges to the judiciary go to the heart
of the efficiency and efficacy of the judicial system. Courts are part of a complex
organization that provides a fundamental public service. Thus, it is timely to
reconsider the working conditions of Portuguese judges, public prosecutors, and
court clerks as they fulfil their judicial roles.
This article presents the results of an online survey and interviews applied to
the judicial professions (judges, public prosecutors, and court clerks) in Portugal,
discussing their perceptions of working conditions and, more specifically, their
work intensity and working time. At a time when courts are considered an especially
important institution for safeguarding rights and citizenship, it is crucial to
ensure that its professionals have the best conditions possible to perform their
competencies with quality.
I. Working Conditions in Courts: Working Time and Work Intensity
The concept of working conditions has evolved gradually, from a somewhat narrow
definition associated with physical integrity to a focus on the concept of well-being
and, finally, to an understanding of working conditions that is associated with the
quality of work and employment. Recent studies in the sociology of work, but also
EUROFOUND, have adopted a comprehensive definition of working conditions as
having primarily encompassing such issues as health and safety in the workplace,
work organization, quality of working life, and work-life balance.13 Work intensity
and working time are two of the seven dimensions of the job quality framework14
proposed by EUROFOUND,15 with a proven impact (whether positive or negative)
on the health and well-being of workers.
While work intensity is related to the level of work demands in the job, including
quantitative demands, pace determinants, interdependency, and emotional
demands, working time comprises aspects such as duration, atypical working
time, working time arrangements, and flexibility. According to EUROFOUND,
these dimensions play a role in workers' health and well-being as well as in their
performance. If the workload is very high, or if the job requires juggling various
demands, or if the number of rest periods is inadequate, there is an increased risk
of illness and delays and reduced quality of outputs, as it becomes difficult to perform
tasks in the most effective way. As stated in the European Union's Directive
13. Jorge Cabrita and Darina Peycheva, National Working Conditions Surveys in Europe: A Compilation,
Dublin: EUROFOUND, 2014; Teresa Maneca Lima, « Condições de trabalho », in Centro de Estudos Sociais
(ed.), Dicionário das Crises e das Alternativas, Coimbra: Almedina, 2012, p. 56-57; EUROFOUND,
Working Conditions and Sustainable Work: An Analysis using the Job Quality Framework, Luxembourg:
Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.
14. Physical environment, work intensity, working time quality, social environment, skills and discretion,
prospects, and earnings.
15. EUROFOUND, 6th European Working Conditions Survey: overview report, Luxembourg: Publications
Office of the European Union, 2016; EUROFOUND, Working Conditions and Sustainable Work..., cited.
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Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024

Table des matières de la publication Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024