A new organisation of time over working life

Changes to traditional gender roles and the labour market are forcing a rethink of conventional work-life patterns. Individuals are calling for a better quality of life, while employers require greater flexibility in the workplace. The idea of reorganising time over the whole course of working is one possible response. This report offers a conceptual framework to consider time arrangements and working life, linking this to measures to improve quality of life. It reviews changing patterns and preferences for time use as well as a range of measures, such as the accessibility of more paid leave during the ‘stress’ phases of life in order to compensate for raising the retirement age, and the introduction of social security structures to fit new time arrangements. The report is presented as a contribution to the debate on time policies and quality of life. A short summary of this report has been prepared by the Foundation’s research managers (EF0364). An information sheet on this topic is also available (EF0344).