<P> In economics, a backward - bending supply curve of labour, or backward - bending labour supply curve, is a graphical device showing a situation in which as real, or inflation - corrected, wages increase beyond a certain level, people will substitute leisure (non-paid time) for paid worktime and so higher wages lead to a decrease in the labour supply and so less labour - time being offered for sale . </P> <P> The "labour - leisure" tradeoff is the tradeoff faced by wage - earning human beings between the amount of time spent engaged in wage - paying work (assumed to be unpleasant) and satisfaction - generating unpaid time, which allows participation in "leisure" activities and the use of time to do necessary self - maintenance, such as sleep . The key to the tradeoff is a comparison between the wage received from each hour of working and the amount of satisfaction generated by the use of unpaid time . </P>

Why supply curve of labour is backward bending