List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 From Field to Factory and Beyond 9
Original Affluence? 10
Medieval Church Time, Modern Clock Time 14
Commodified Time 18
Industrial Time-discipline 19
Time-work Discipline in the Twenty-first Century 25
Gendered Time 27
2 Work-time Reduction in the US 31
Citizenship, Leisure, Education, and Health 34
From Haymarket to Henry Ford 40
Work Sharing and Fair Labor 51
Two 30-hour Experiments 57
Conclusion 63
3 Current Trends 65
Annual Hours 66
Weekly Hours 69
Overtime 71
Non-standard Work 74
Non-standard Schedules 90
Hours Mismatches 92
4 Work–family, Work–life 96
From Family-based to Family Consumer Economy 97
Women’s Labor-force Participation 99
Family Structure and Employment Hours 102
Housework, Child Care, and Free Time 102
Work–family 108
Private Adaptations 109
Workplace and Public Policy Initiatives 114
Work–life 124
5 Work Time Outside the US 128
Work Hours in Industrialized Nations 128
Work Hours Regulations in Europe 136
Women’s Part-time Employment in Europe 148
Family Policies 151
European Couples’ Work-hour Strategies 158
Work Hours in Transition and Developing Countries 163
Work Hours Preferences 171
Conclusion 172
6 A New Political Economy of Work Time 174
The Electronic Cottage 178
Customized Time: Two Forms 180
Recommendations for Change 181
Work Time and Environmental Sustainability 187
Conclusion 191
Notes 195
References 201
Index 229
Cynthia L. Negrey is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Louisville.
"Cynthia Negrey has written an astute, thorough review of what wehave learned about the issue of work time since the issue was putback on the table by Juliet Schor's The Overworked American.By placing the issue in historical context, and by providing acomparative framework for thinking about the American experience,her book succeeds in its goal of getting readers to think about howwork time might be organized differently, in ways more compatiblewith the needs of a changing workforce." Peter Meiksins, Cleveland State University "Engaging and accessible, Work Time illustrates thehistorical development of the concept of time, then deftly weavestogether the broad literature around the defining work-timeinnovations of our era, namely the transition to part-time,temporary, and other non-permanent forms of employment. Byintegrating the literature on today's work-time configurations andproviding an international comparison of social policies aimed atsupporting work-life balance, Negrey helps readers make sense ofone of the most complex and significant issues of our times. WorkTime is essential reading for students and a valuable resource forresearchers, educators, and practitioners who are interested inwork, gender, and the intersection of the two." Anne Zacharias-Walsh, Solidarity Ink "an excellent example of good sociological analysis whichilluminates the underlying social characteristics of dominantinstitutions." Contemporary Sociology
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