Working time

The subject of working time has been important to the work of the International Labour Organization since its inception. One of the major challenges in this area remains the need to limit excessive hours of work and provide for adequate periods of rest and recuperation, including weekly rest and paid annual leave, in order to protect workers' health and safety. These concerns have been enshrined for many years in a wide range of international labour standards concerning working time. The process of globalization and the resulting intensification of competition, the associated development in information and communications technologies, and new patterns of consumer demand for goods and services in the '24-hour economy' have had a large impact on production methods and work organization. The end result of these developments is a growing diversification, decentralization and individualization of the hours that people work, as well as an often increasing tension between enterprises' business requirements and workers' needs and preferences regarding their working time.