This book challenges conventional narratives of the evolution of working hours in Western Europe, offering a fresh perspective on the complex mosaic of actual working time. By examining the historical and sociological dimensions of labour from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, it challenges the oversimplified view that work evolved over three main periods: a pre-industrial era, when working hours were not measured; the advent of industrialisation, when they increased dramatically; and a period after 1850, when they began to decline. In doing so, the book invites readers to reconsider the ideas of influential thinkers such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber and Michel Foucault.

Key concepts explored include division of labour, variations in work ethic, and the impact of industrialisation. Through meticulous micro-historical case studies, the authors reconstruct the temporal realities of work in Europe, with a focus on France, Belgium and Italy. This approach provides a ground-level view of labour, revealing the nuanced realities of working hours along with work duration and intensity. Ideal for historians, sociologists and scholars of labour studies, this volume offers a bridge between the various historiographies of work and encourages dialogue across periods and regions. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the historical depth of contemporary issues like productivity and work-life balance.

Corine Maitte is Professor of Early Modern History at Gustave Eiffel University (Marne-la-Vallée), France, and director of the interdisciplinary research group Analyses comparées des pouvoirs. Her research explores the economic and social history of Italy, with a particular focus on the glass and textile sectors, the migration of craftspeople and the organisation of different forms of labour.

Didier Terrier is Emeritus Professor of Economic and Social History at Université Polytechnique des Hauts-de-France, France. His research explores the economic and social history of Northern France and Belgium, with a particular focus on self-writing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as urban and rural textiles.