Working time is perhaps one of the aspects of working conditions that has been most discussed in the context of negotiations between workers and employers. This report has examined the main trends characterising the evolution of the working time in the EU during the first decade of the 21st century.

The ways in which working time standards are set vary significantly across the EU. Two thirds of Member States have either negotiated or adjusted the mandated working time regimes.

Overall, agreed working time was very stable between 1999 and 2014 in the EU. Except in very few situations, there were no dramatic changes in the average agreed working time regimes in most of the Member States. The majority of changes which occured in that period involved decreases.

The exception was working time developments in the 21st century: work duration and its regulation in the EU public administration with registered important increases in working time in the public sector as a consequence of the measures adopted to tackle the impacts of the economic crisis.

Sociodemographic challenges such as increased female participation in the labour force, an ageing population and the large‑scale adoption of new communication technologies are already triggering discussions about working time flexibility. Some parties are arguing, for example, that fewer working hours are needed to improve work‑life balance and to prevent health problems for workers. However, is that compatible with an increasingly fast‑changing economic environment, which requires working time flexibility to meet the demands of a modern world economy? And, more importantly perhaps, is that type of flexibility compatible with workers’ health and well‑being?