The decline of working hours

In 1865 the average British worker worked 124,000 hours over their life, similar to the U.S. and Japan. In 1980, this declined to only 69,000 hours alongside increases in life expectancy. In the decades since then a slower decline has endured - approximately 6%. 

Overall, we went from spending 50% of time in our lives working to 20%

The decline in the amount of work we undertake during our lifetimes has been attributed to factors including public schooling and rising education attainment, as well as innovation raising the value of our labour. These changing conditions have broadened employment involving less hours than historical levels, with higher earnings. 

Source: Explorations in Economic History Journal, The times they are not changin’: Days and hours of work in Old and New Worlds, 1870–2000