Working Time in the EU

Working time is a critical element in the working conditions of all workers and is one of the main points for negotiation in collective bargaining. The issue has far-reaching consequences for competitiveness, plays a role in shaping home life, and both reflects and influences gender equality and gender roles. For all these reasons, the issue of working time has received considerable attention in EU policymaking discussions over the last 20 years. These discussions have focused in particular on making working time more flexible and facilitating shorter working hours, both as a way of making jobs available to more citizens and to assist in balancing work and private life. Another key policy area implicated in working time is gender equality, stemming from the fact that men and women have very different working time patterns and that women tend to devote much more time to unpaid work in the home.