Scope of the Symposium
Modern society is changing quite rapidly both in terms of economic and productive strategies, and in terms of social organisation and individual behaviours.
The “24-hour Society” requires a social organisation where time constraints are no longer limits to human activities. Consequently, the arrangement of working hours has become a crucial factor in work organisation, and acquires different values according to the economic and social consequences likely to occur at different periods in the company and worker’s life.
Shift and night work, extended and irregular working hours are conditions challenging human adaptability to time changes from biological and social perspectives, and may lead to more or less severe impairment of work ability, health and well being: hence, high economic and social costs for the individual, the enterprise and the society.
The aim of the Symposium is to update the scientific knowledge on these important topics and propose practical and feasible solutions for a better organisation of working hours, more respectful of human health and social well-being.
About the symposium
The International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Times is a biannual event.
This symposium has a tradition of more than 30 years in providing up-to-date information on night and shiftwork, as well as new trends in working time organization.
The Symposia are organized by members of the Working Time Society, and of the Scientific Committee on Shiftwork and Working Time of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH).
The 19th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time is organized by the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Milano, Italy.