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

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