- 100 years of 8-hour working days
- Working time in 2017–2018
- Rest breaks from work: Overview of regulations, research and practice
- Annual review of working life 2018
- Burnout in the workplace: A review of data and policy responses in the EU
- Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work
- Working time developments in the 21st century: Work duration and its regulation in the EU
- Sixth European Working Conditions Survey – Overview report
Working time
12 November 2019
Working time refers to any period during which a worker is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out his activities or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or practice. Working hours vary for workers in different occupations or at different life stages, and gender is particularly important in determining these differences.
Working time is a key element of working life and regulating it has been at the core of political, economic and social debates at both EU and national levels. To protect workers’ health and safety, the EU’s Working Time Directive requires all Member States to guarantee minimum standards on working hours for all workers throughout the EU. This includes standards on maximum weekly working hours (set at 48 hours), minimum rest periods and breaks, annual leave, night work and shift work.
- European Commission: Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC)
- European Commission: Working Time Directive: Interpretative Communication on Directive 2003/88/EC
Eurofound’s work
For many years now, Eurofound has collected information on various aspects of working time and their implications for working conditions and quality of life of men and women in the EU. Eurofound’s studies on working time aim to improve understanding of how it is organised and how this affects employment, productivity, well-being and the balance between work and private life. Data on collectively agreed working time and the role of the social partners have been published regularly, and have also been recently analysed from a long-term perspective. Research on men’s working time versus women’s shows that men are much more likely to work longer hours and women are more likely to spend more time doing unpaid domestic work.
Regulation and organisation of working time
Regulating working time has a role to play in increasing work–life balance and also labour market participation. In a fast-changing economic climate, companies and workers need flexibility. Eurofound has explored the relationship between working time and work–life balance in a life course perspective.
Research has looked at the various aspects of the organisation of working time and the implications for productivity and working conditions. As the organisation of working time is changing, Eurofound together with the International Labour Organization recently examined the effects of telework and ICT-mobile work on the working time of those engaged in such work arrangements.
Taking a long-term perspective on working time, a recent study has examined the evolution of aspects of collectively agreed working time in the EU at the beginning of the 21st century. It focuses in particular on five sectors: chemicals, metalworking, banking, retail and public administration. The report describes the institutional regimes of regulation and assesses changes in agreed working hours and usual working hours between 1999 and 2014.
Working time in survey analysis
Eurofound’s three major surveys provide data on issues related to working time.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) covers working time from various angles. In the sixth EWCS 2015, working time quality was one of seven indices of job quality. It was used to measure the incidence of long working hours, scope to take a break, atypical working time, working time arrangements and flexibility, and how these impact on the health and well-being of workers. Findings show 43% of workers have very regular working schedules.
Using data from the sixth EWCS, Eurofound has recently examined working time patterns for sustainable work. The analysis looks at the links between working time patterns, work–life balance and working time preferences, as well as workers’ health and well-being. It also assesses how sustainable the current working conditions and working time patterns are into the future.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) looks at working time arrangements, both paid and unpaid, and their impact on satisfaction with work–life balance.
Working time arrangements can have a significant bearing on the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of companies, not to mention the health, well-being and motivation of their employees. Through its European Company Survey (ECS), Eurofound has also carried out comprehensive research on working time and work–life balance. It has looked at the prevalence of flexible working time arrangements and working time accounts, part-time work, overtime and non-standard working hours; parental and other long-term leave; phased and early retirement; as well as specific policies to support work–life balance in companies.
Featured: Blog on the variation in working time in the EU
12 November 2019 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) met for the first time 100 years ago, and right at the top of the agenda for discussion for this new specialised UN agency was the 8-hour working day. A century later and, despite radical technological change in almost every aspect of our lives, the 8-hour workday still largely defines working life throughout Europe. This blog looks at the variation in working time in the EU Member States, collectively agreed compared with usually worked hours, and what is on the horizon for the next 100 years. It includes interactive charts to facilitate comparison between countries, based on data on working time from Eurofound's EWCS and the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
Blog: 100 years of 8-hour working days
Data and resources
- EurWORK: Database of wages, working time and collective disputes – Country-level data
- EurWORK: Working life country profiles – National-level information on working time and its regulation
- EurWORK: Articles on issues related to working time
- Data visualisation: Sixth European Working Conditions Survey
- Data visualisation: Third European Quality of Life Survey
- European Industrial Relations Dictionary entries on: Working time, Working time and collective agreements, Overtime, Night work, Part-time work, Short-time work, Shift work, Fixed-term work, Annual leave
Ongoing work
Highlights (8)
All (768)
- 100 years of 8-hour working days
- Workers in newer Member States expected to work three weeks more per year
- Working time in 2017–2018
- Annual review of working life 2018
- Rest breaks from work: Overview of regulations, research and practice
- Some progress of fathers taking paternity and parental leave in Europe over the past decade, but equal sharing of responsibilities remains low everywhere
- Parental and paternity leave – Uptake by fathers
- Summer time arrangements in the EU: A tripartite outlook on ‘Cloxit’
Publications (187)
- 100 years of 8-hour working days
- Working time in 2017–2018
- Annual review of working life 2018
- Rest breaks from work: Overview of regulations, research and practice
- Parental and paternity leave – Uptake by fathers
- The challenge of plenty: Tackling labour shortages in the EU
- Annual review of working life 2017
- Burnout in the workplace: A review of data and policy responses in the EU
Articles (549)
- Summer time arrangements in the EU: A tripartite outlook on ‘Cloxit’
- Portugal: latest working life developments Q2 2018
- Latvia: latest working life developments Q2 2018
- Austria: latest working life developments Q2 2018
- Germany: Study reveals huge gap between collectively agreed and usual weekly working time
- Luxembourg: Social partners begin renegotiating collective agreement in banking sector
- Poland: Ban on Sunday trading after decade-long battle
- Slovenia: Social partners in favour of partial Sunday opening hours in retail
News (19)
- Workers in newer Member States expected to work three weeks more per year
- Some progress of fathers taking paternity and parental leave in Europe over the past decade, but equal sharing of responsibilities remains low everywhere
- Europe’s frayed ends: Understanding the challenges of 21st century burnout
- Four out of five workers in Europe happy with working time ‘fit’
- Trend of converging working time across 28 EU Member States has stalled
- ‘Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work’ - new report highlights opportunities and challenges of expanding telework
- Constancy versus change: Working time in the EU / Eurofound News, March 2016
- Maximum working week of 40 hours common throughout Europe / Eurofound News, March 2016
Events (13)
- The role of survey data for evidence-based policymaking on working time in the EU: experiences and ways forward
- Informal Meeting of Ministers of Employment, Social Affairs, Family and Gender Equality (EPSCO)
- ILO-Eurofound joint launch of report on 'Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work'
- Changing working conditions in Europe: Moving towards better work: Overview report of Eurofound's sixth European Working Conditions Survey
- 2016 WorldPensionSummit – Eurofound workshop on Creating flexible retirement schemes: Facing global ageing and extending working lives
- AEDIPE - 50th international conference - The future of work
- Labour market regulation in the post-crisis era - ESRC Seminar
- Launch of the 6th European Working Conditions Survey - Luxembourg EU Presidency Event