diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 50dbb621..2fdba310 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ export(boxcox_trans)
 export(breaks_extended)
 export(breaks_log)
 export(breaks_pretty)
+export(breaks_timespan)
 export(breaks_width)
 export(brewer_pal)
 export(cbreaks)
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ export(demo_datetime)
 export(demo_discrete)
 export(demo_log10)
 export(demo_time)
+export(demo_timespan)
 export(dichromat_pal)
 export(discard)
 export(div_gradient_pal)
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ export(label_percent)
 export(label_pvalue)
 export(label_scientific)
 export(label_time)
+export(label_timespan)
 export(label_wrap)
 export(linetype_pal)
 export(log10_trans)
@@ -158,6 +161,7 @@ export(squish)
 export(squish_infinite)
 export(time_format)
 export(time_trans)
+export(timespan_trans)
 export(train_continuous)
 export(train_discrete)
 export(trans_breaks)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index d4778712..5d94c33b 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@
 * `label_dollar()` has been superseeded by `label_currency()` for clarity (#344)
 * `sqrt_trans()` no longer returns an inverse for values outside of its domain 
   (#214)
+* Add better support for `difftime` objects. `label_timespan()` adds 
+  functionality for adding correct unit suffix to timespan data, 
+  `breaks_timespan()` adds functionality for finding pleasant breakpoints across
+  the various bases in time units, while `timespan_trans()` wraps it all 
+  together and provides an alternative to `hms_trans()` (#212)
 
 # scales 1.2.1
 
diff --git a/R/breaks.R b/R/breaks.R
index 439580f7..947f3aa6 100644
--- a/R/breaks.R
+++ b/R/breaks.R
@@ -140,3 +140,45 @@ breaks_pretty <- function(n = 5, ...) {
 #' @export
 #' @inheritParams breaks_pretty
 pretty_breaks <- breaks_pretty
+
+#' Breaks for timespan data
+#'
+#' As timespan units span a variety of bases (1000 below seconds, 60 for second
+#' and minutes, 24 for hours, and 7 for days), the range of the input data
+#' determines the base used for calculating breaks
+#'
+#' @param unit The unit used to interpret numeric data input
+#' @inheritParams breaks_extended
+#' @export
+#' @examples
+#' demo_timespan(seq(0, 100), breaks = breaks_timespan())
+#'
+breaks_timespan <- function(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks"), n = 5) {
+  unit <- arg_match(unit)
+  force(n)
+  function(x) {
+    x <- as.numeric(as.difftime(x, units = unit), units = "secs")
+    rng <- range(x)
+    diff <- rng[2] - rng[1]
+
+    if (diff <= 2 * 60) {
+      scale <- 1
+    } else if (diff <= 2 * 3600) {
+      scale <- 60
+    } else if (diff <= 2 * 86400) {
+      scale <- 3600
+    } else if (diff <= 2 * 604800) {
+      scale <- 86400
+    } else {
+      scale <- 604800
+    }
+
+    rng <- rng / scale
+    breaks <- labeling::extended(
+      rng[1], rng[2], n,
+      Q = c(1, 2, 1.5, 4, 3),
+      only.loose = FALSE
+    )
+    as.difftime(breaks * scale, units = "secs")
+  }
+}
diff --git a/R/label-date.R b/R/label-date.R
index af89dc20..730fb7b5 100644
--- a/R/label-date.R
+++ b/R/label-date.R
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #' but uses a slightly different approach: `ConciseDateFormatter` formats
 #' "firsts" (e.g. first day of month, first day of day) specially;
 #' `date_short()` formats changes (e.g. new month, new year) specially.
+#' `label_timespan()` is intended to show time passed and adds common time units
+#' suffix to the input (ns, µs, ms, s, m, h, d, w).
 #'
 #' @inherit label_number return
 #' @param format For `date_format()` and `time_format()` a date/time format
@@ -114,6 +116,34 @@ label_time <- function(format = "%H:%M:%S", tz = "UTC", locale = NULL) {
   }
 }
 
+#' @export
+#' @rdname label_date
+#' @param unit The unit used to interpret numeric input
+#' @inheritDotParams number accuracy scale prefix suffix big.mark decimal.mark style_positive style_negative trim
+label_timespan <- function(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks"),
+                           ...) {
+  unit <- arg_match(unit)
+  force_all(...)
+  function(x) {
+    x <- as.numeric(as.difftime(x, units = unit), units = "secs")
+    number(
+      x,
+      scale_cut = c(
+        0,
+        "ns" = 1e-9,
+        "µs" = 1e-6,
+        "ms" = 1e-3,
+        "s" = 1,
+        "m" = 60,
+        "h" = 3600,
+        "d" = 24 * 3600,
+        "w" = 7 * 24 * 3600
+      ),
+      ...
+    )
+  }
+}
+
 format_dt <- function(x, format, tz = "UTC", locale = NULL) {
   if (is.null(locale)) {
     format(x, format = format, tz = tz)
diff --git a/R/trans-date.R b/R/trans-date.R
index 51424b36..7bf67874 100644
--- a/R/trans-date.R
+++ b/R/trans-date.R
@@ -61,15 +61,49 @@ time_trans <- function(tz = NULL) {
 
 #' Transformation for times (class hms)
 #'
+#' `timespan_trans()` provides transformations for data encoding time passed
+#' along with breaks and label formatting showing standard unit of time fitting
+#' the range of the data. `hms_trans()` provides the same but using standard hms
+#' idioms and formatting.
+#'
 #' @export
 #' @examples
+#' # timespan_trans allows you to specify the time unit numeric data is
+#' # interpreted in
+#' min_trans <- timespan_trans("mins")
+#' demo_timespan(seq(0, 100), trans = min_trans)
+#' # Input already in difftime format is interpreted correctly
+#' demo_timespan(as.difftime(seq(0, 100), units = "secs"), trans = min_trans)
+#'
 #' if (require("hms")) {
+#'   # hms_trans always assumes seconds
 #'   hms <- round(runif(10) * 86400)
 #'   t <- hms_trans()
 #'   t$transform(hms)
 #'   t$inverse(t$transform(hms))
 #'   t$breaks(hms)
+#'   # The break labels also follow the hms format
+#'   demo_timespan(hms, trans = t)
 #' }
+#'
+timespan_trans <- function(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks")) {
+  unit <- arg_match(unit)
+  trans_new(
+    "timespan",
+    transform = function(x) {
+      structure(as.numeric(as.difftime(x, units = unit), units = "secs"), names = names(x))
+    },
+    inverse = function(x) {
+      x <- as.difftime(x, units = "secs")
+      units(x) <- unit
+      x
+    },
+    breaks = breaks_timespan(unit),
+    format = label_timespan(unit)
+  )
+}
+#' @rdname timespan_trans
+#' @export
 hms_trans <- function() {
   trans_new(
     "hms",
@@ -77,32 +111,13 @@ hms_trans <- function() {
       structure(as.numeric(x), names = names(x))
     },
     inverse = hms::as_hms,
-    breaks = time_breaks()
+    breaks = breaks_hms()
   )
 }
 
-time_breaks <- function(n = 5) {
-  force(n)
+breaks_hms <- function(n = 5) {
+  base_breaks <- breaks_timespan("secs", n)
   function(x) {
-    rng <- as.numeric(range(x))
-    diff <- rng[2] - rng[1]
-
-    if (diff <= 2 * 60) {
-      scale <- 1
-    } else if (diff <= 2 * 3600) {
-      scale <- 60
-    } else if (diff <= 2 * 86400) {
-      scale <- 3600
-    } else {
-      scale <- 86400
-    }
-
-    rng <- rng / scale
-    breaks <- labeling::extended(
-      rng[1], rng[2], n,
-      Q = c(1, 2, 1.5, 4, 3),
-      only.loose = FALSE
-    )
-    hms::as_hms(breaks * scale)
+    hms::as_hms(base_breaks(x))
   }
 }
diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
index e1928597..27ae7021 100644
--- a/R/utils.R
+++ b/R/utils.R
@@ -55,3 +55,9 @@ demo_datetime <- function(x, ...) {
 demo_time <- function(x, ...) {
   demo_ggplot(x, "scale_x_time", ...)
 }
+
+#' @rdname demo_continuous
+#' @export
+demo_timespan <- function(x, ...) {
+  demo_ggplot(x, "scale_x_continuous", ...)
+}
diff --git a/man/breaks_timespan.Rd b/man/breaks_timespan.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dc750729
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/breaks_timespan.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/breaks.R
+\name{breaks_timespan}
+\alias{breaks_timespan}
+\title{Breaks for timespan data}
+\usage{
+breaks_timespan(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks"), n = 5)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{unit}{The unit used to interpret numeric data input}
+
+\item{n}{Desired number of breaks. You may get slightly more or fewer
+breaks that requested.}
+}
+\description{
+As timespan units span a variety of bases (1000 below seconds, 60 for second
+and minutes, 24 for hours, and 7 for days), the range of the input data
+determines the base used for calculating breaks
+}
+\examples{
+demo_timespan(seq(0, 100), breaks = breaks_timespan())
+
+}
diff --git a/man/demo_continuous.Rd b/man/demo_continuous.Rd
index 94576fe3..d062595f 100644
--- a/man/demo_continuous.Rd
+++ b/man/demo_continuous.Rd
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 \alias{demo_discrete}
 \alias{demo_datetime}
 \alias{demo_time}
+\alias{demo_timespan}
 \title{Demonstrate scales functions with ggplot2 code}
 \usage{
 demo_continuous(x, ...)
@@ -17,6 +18,8 @@ demo_discrete(x, ...)
 demo_datetime(x, ...)
 
 demo_time(x, ...)
+
+demo_timespan(x, ...)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{x}{A vector of data}
diff --git a/man/hms_trans.Rd b/man/hms_trans.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index e01bfa2a..00000000
--- a/man/hms_trans.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/trans-date.R
-\name{hms_trans}
-\alias{hms_trans}
-\title{Transformation for times (class hms)}
-\usage{
-hms_trans()
-}
-\description{
-Transformation for times (class hms)
-}
-\examples{
-if (require("hms")) {
-  hms <- round(runif(10) * 86400)
-  t <- hms_trans()
-  t$transform(hms)
-  t$inverse(t$transform(hms))
-  t$breaks(hms)
-}
-}
diff --git a/man/label_date.Rd b/man/label_date.Rd
index 427f52b2..eb00a960 100644
--- a/man/label_date.Rd
+++ b/man/label_date.Rd
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 \alias{label_date}
 \alias{label_date_short}
 \alias{label_time}
+\alias{label_timespan}
 \title{Label date/times}
 \usage{
 label_date(format = "\%Y-\%m-\%d", tz = "UTC", locale = NULL)
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@ label_date(format = "\%Y-\%m-\%d", tz = "UTC", locale = NULL)
 label_date_short(format = c("\%Y", "\%b", "\%d", "\%H:\%M"), sep = "\\n")
 
 label_time(format = "\%H:\%M:\%S", tz = "UTC", locale = NULL)
+
+label_timespan(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks"), ...)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{format}{For \code{date_format()} and \code{time_format()} a date/time format
@@ -28,6 +31,44 @@ can see a complete list of supported locales with
 \code{\link[stringi:stri_locale_list]{stringi::stri_locale_list()}}.}
 
 \item{sep}{Separator to use when combining date formats into a single string.}
+
+\item{unit}{The unit used to interpret numeric input}
+
+\item{...}{
+  Arguments passed on to \code{\link[=number]{number}}
+  \describe{
+    \item{\code{accuracy}}{A number to round to. Use (e.g.) \code{0.01} to show 2 decimal
+places of precision. If \code{NULL}, the default, uses a heuristic that should
+ensure breaks have the minimum number of digits needed to show the
+difference between adjacent values.
+
+Applied to rescaled data.}
+    \item{\code{scale}}{A scaling factor: \code{x} will be multiplied by \code{scale} before
+formatting. This is useful if the underlying data is very small or very
+large.}
+    \item{\code{prefix}}{Additional text to display before the number. The suffix is
+applied to absolute value before \code{style_positive} and \code{style_negative} are
+processed so that \code{prefix = "$"} will yield (e.g.) \verb{-$1} and \verb{($1)}.}
+    \item{\code{suffix}}{Additional text to display after the number.}
+    \item{\code{big.mark}}{Character used between every 3 digits to separate thousands.}
+    \item{\code{decimal.mark}}{The character to be used to indicate the numeric
+decimal point.}
+    \item{\code{style_positive}}{A string that determines the style of positive numbers:
+\itemize{
+\item \code{"none"} (the default): no change, e.g. \code{1}.
+\item \code{"plus"}: preceded by \code{+}, e.g. \code{+1}.
+}}
+    \item{\code{style_negative}}{A string that determines the style of negative numbers:
+\itemize{
+\item \code{"hyphen"} (the default): preceded by a standard hypen \code{-}, e.g. \code{-1}.
+\item \code{"minus"}, uses a proper Unicode minus symbol. This is a typographical
+nicety that ensures \code{-} aligns with the horizontal bar of the
+the horizontal bar of \code{+}.
+\item \code{"parens"}, wrapped in parentheses, e.g. \code{(1)}.
+}}
+    \item{\code{trim}}{Logical, if \code{FALSE}, values are right-justified to a common
+width (see \code{\link[base:format]{base::format()}}).}
+  }}
 }
 \value{
 All \code{label_()} functions return a "labelling" function, i.e. a function that
@@ -47,6 +88,8 @@ sufficient to uniquely identify labels. It's inspired by matplotlib's
 but uses a slightly different approach: \code{ConciseDateFormatter} formats
 "firsts" (e.g. first day of month, first day of day) specially;
 \code{date_short()} formats changes (e.g. new month, new year) specially.
+\code{label_timespan()} is intended to show time passed and adds common time units
+suffix to the input (ns, µs, ms, s, m, h, d, w).
 }
 \examples{
 date_range <- function(start, days) {
diff --git a/man/timespan_trans.Rd b/man/timespan_trans.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..adc94257
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/timespan_trans.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/trans-date.R
+\name{timespan_trans}
+\alias{timespan_trans}
+\alias{hms_trans}
+\title{Transformation for times (class hms)}
+\usage{
+timespan_trans(unit = c("secs", "mins", "hours", "days", "weeks"))
+
+hms_trans()
+}
+\description{
+\code{timespan_trans()} provides transformations for data encoding time passed
+along with breaks and label formatting showing standard unit of time fitting
+the range of the data. \code{hms_trans()} provides the same but using standard hms
+idioms and formatting.
+}
+\examples{
+# timespan_trans allows you to specify the time unit numeric data is
+# interpreted in
+min_trans <- timespan_trans("mins")
+demo_timespan(seq(0, 100), trans = min_trans)
+# Input already in difftime format is interpreted correctly
+demo_timespan(as.difftime(seq(0, 100), units = "secs"), trans = min_trans)
+
+if (require("hms")) {
+  # hms_trans always assumes seconds
+  hms <- round(runif(10) * 86400)
+  t <- hms_trans()
+  t$transform(hms)
+  t$inverse(t$transform(hms))
+  t$breaks(hms)
+  # The break labels also follow the hms format
+  demo_timespan(hms, trans = t)
+}
+
+}