Working Time and Workers' Preferences in Industrialized Countries

The gradual reduction in weekly working hours in the first half of the last century, which culminated in the widespread adoption of the 'standard' working week by the 1960s, was grounded in a concern for health and safety and for the preservation of time outside of paid labour.
Over the last few decades, however, this progressive standardization of working time has given way to a diversification and individualization in working hours as employers have responded to the competitive pressures of globalization by requiring that productivity be enhanced through changes in working-time schedules.
As we enter the new century, a common goal has emerged: the removal or liberaliZation of restrictions on unsocial hours and on the variation of working hours. This books draws together an international team of contributors to examine the process.

Jon . Messenger is a Senior Researcher with the International Labour Office (ILO), Switzerland.

Introduction: Working Time in Industrialized Countries Dominique Anxo, Colette Fagan, Sangheon Lee, Deirdre McCann and Jon C. Messenger 1. Regulating Working Time Needs and Preferences Deirdre McCann 2. Working-Hour Gaps: Trends and Issues Sangheon Lee 3. Working Time Patterns Among Industrialized Countries: A Household Perspective 4. Gender and Working Time in Industrialized Countries Colette Fagan 5. Working Time at the Enterprise Level: Business Objectives, Firms' Practices and Workers' Preferences Jon C. Messenger 6. Implications for Working Time Policies Dominique Anxo, Colette Fagan, Sangheon Lee, Deirdre McCann and Jon C. Messenger