Work, health and the commodification of life's time: reframing work– life balance and the promise of a long life

Abstract

How to respond to an ageing society has become an increasingly important question, for employers, workers and policy makers. Here we critically engage with that debate,arguing that future approaches to the relationship between work and age should take into account multiple influences on older worker behaviour, including the combination of economic, lifecourse and personal priorities. We consider the international consensus that has emerged about the primacy of work as the solution to what to do with a long life. We then address the uncertain nature of work as it affects older workers, and discuss the commodification of time in relation to a productivist approach to ..