Sri Lanka, April 29 -- While limiting the number of hours of work to protect workers' health has been an important issue for more than a century, the emergence of work-life balance as a significant social goal came much later, stemming from policymakers' increased awareness of the difficulty workers faced in reconciling their personal lives with their paid work. The number of hours worked, the way in which they are organised, and the availability of rest periods can significantly affect not only the quality of work, but also life outside the workplace.

Working-time patterns and developments around the world

The topic of working time can be divided into two main components: (a) the number of hours of work; and (b) the organisation of tho...