This chapter examines the paradox that in a society that put a high value on work, those at the top of the social scale were celebrated as a 'leisured classs' with important political and social functions. By the early twentieth century, however, the 'leisured class' were beginning to be called the 'idle rich', and by mid-century they were thought to be a thing of the past. The need for leisure for the well-off, especially 'brain-workers', was, however, a constant theme of commentators in the later nineteenth century, leading to calls for 'a gospel of leisure' to sit alongside 'a gospel of work'. But for those in the higher echelons of the social strata, work in the twentieth century became more demanding, leading an economist in 1970 to write about a 'harried leisure class', those who were money-rich but time-short, a foretaste of work-life balance debates.

This chapter provides an introduction to the historiography of how time has been studied and outlines the themes of the book. The literature on work-life balance is criticised for its lack of historical perspective. The 'leisure preference' of male workers in the early eighteenth century is contrasted with the increasing hours of work up to 1830 and then their progressive decline up to 1970. Over the same period, childhood and retirement became perceived as time without work. The period since then has been marked by a halt to the decline in working hours and women's increasing participation in the labour market. Time, it is argued, is both linear and cyclical, its history intimately bound up with the histories of space, of class, of Christianity and of economic life.

This chapter identifies the key features of a business that by 1982 had been in existence for 100 years. The main theme is how the engineering-led strategy and devolved management structure created by the de Ferranti family up to 1975 had been built on by the chief executive, Derek Alun-Jones, imposed by the government as a result of its bail-out in 1974. Addressing the major market challenges facing Ferranti in the 1980s, the chapter concludes with an analysis of Alun-Jones’ ‘American Strategy’ which culminated in a major acquisition programme.

This chapter traces the career of James Guerin and his establishment of ISC in 1972 as a vehicle for his aspiration to be a major player in the international defence markets. After failing to develop a viable product range, Guerin resorted to covert arms deals on behalf of the CIA, building a highly secretive business that was eventually obliged to register on the London Stock Exchange, rather than in New York, because of the liberal English company law. Whatever the reality behind Guerin’s business model, the firm attracted Ferranti management because of its American and international links.

The focus of this chapter is on women. Women in the early twentieth century enjoyed leisure time up to marriage but not thereafter. Married women's entry into the labour market in large numbers in the second half of the twentieth century did nothing to increase their leisure, and by the end of the century there was a growing literature addressed to women on how to achieve 'work-life balance', the key being personal organisation. But 'life' in this literature consisted mainly of unpaid child care and domestic work. It coincided with a half to the long decline of hours and in sectors of the economy, particularly in managerial jobs, an increase. Stress at work was increasingly a factor.