Introduction. Population preservation, health promotion, self-actualization and human well-being are priority state tasks.

The aim of the study is to assess the sufficiency of modern legislative measures to regulate working hours for the preservation of health in workers based on the analysis of the history of labour legislation in Russia in the aspect of regulation of work and rest.

Materials and methods. The literature on the subject of the study was analyzed using CyberLeninka, ResearchGate, RSCI, MedLine databases, open Internet resources; normative documentation from legal information systems. The depth of the study is more than 100 years.

Results. At the stage of emergence of industrial society in the middle of XIX employers did not take into account the interests of hired workers in the field of labour protection and rationing of the working day. Labour legislation in Russia emerged in the late XIX century as a result of mass strike movements of factory workers who demanded fair wages, shorter working hours and safe working conditions. Under the Soviet regime, the regulation of labour both activity and regimes in the country acquired the character of totalitarian state control. Scientifically based norms of working hours, annual vacations, pensions and insurance payments were introduced. At the present stage of the market economy, the interests of all parties to contractual relations are taken into account: the employee, the employer and the state. Flexible schedules, remote and mixed forms of employment are in demand and being widely implemented.

Limitations. The research materials and the authors’ conclusion relate only to the history of Russia.

Conclusion. The analysis of changes in labour law demonstrates convincing evidence of the close relationship between the regulation of the duration and working conditions of workers and their state of health. The current trend towards work intensification, overtime, remote work, flexible, and shift schedules require a hygienic assessment of the degree of their harmlessness and safety to preserve occupational longevity.

Contribution of the authors: Chernikova E.F. — research concept and design, data collection and processing, writing text, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article; Fedotova I.V., Umnyagina I.A. — editing, approval of the final version of the article; Potapova I.A. — data collection and processing, editing.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 20, 2024 / Accepted: December 17, 2025 / Published: July 28, 2026