The movement for decent working hours began in 1866.Salvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB 100 companies in the UK are adopting a four-day workweek without cutting pay for their employees.The companies are working with an organization calling for a four-day workweek.Here’s a timeline of how the US adopted the five-day, 40-hour workweek.Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday.One hundred UK companies have signed up for a permanent four-day workweek for all their staffers with no cut in pay.
While the companies employ a mere 2,600 people, a fraction of the UK’s workforce, the move signals a growing shift in how some leaders view the traditional work schedule.
The companies are partnering with a nonprofit called the 4 Day Week Campaign, founded by investor and philanthropist Charlotte Lockhart and author Andrew Barnes.
The organization works with business leaders to encourage four-day workweek pilots and programs.
This update is part of a growing trend of more leaders considering a 32-hour working setup.
Indeed, the pandemic accelerated public discourse over whether the 40-hour workweek still makes sense for some employees.
Companies including e-commerce startup Bolt , Panasonic, and social media company Buffer have adopted four-day workweek policies since 2020.
Even business titans like Virgin Group founder Richard Branson support the movement.
“The idea of working five days a week with two day weekends and a few weeks of annual holiday is just something people accept.For some reason, it is considered set in stone by most companies.There is no reason this can’t change,” Branson wrote in a 2018 blog post .”In fact, it would benefit everyone if it did.”
Here’s a look back through the history of the 40-hour workweek and how we got to where we are today.
The history of the 40-hour workweek August 20, 1866: A newly formed organization named the National Labor Union asked Congress to pass a law mandating the eight-hour workday.Though their efforts failed, they inspired Americans across the country to support labor reform over the next few decades.
May 1, 1867: The Illinois legislature passed a law mandating an eight-hour workday.Many employers refused to cooperate, and a massive strike erupted in Chicago.That day became known as “May Day.”
May 19, 1869: President Ulysses S.Grant issued a proclamation that guaranteed a stable wage and an eight-hour workday — but only for government workers.
Grant’s decision encouraged private-sector workers to push for the same rights.
1870s and 1880s: While the National Labor Union had dissolved, other organizations including the Knights of Labor and the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions continued to demand an eight-hour workday.Every year on May Day, strikes and demonstrations were organized to bring awareness to the issue.
May 1, 1886: Labor organizations called for a national strike in support of a shorter workday.More than 300,000 workers turned out across the country.In Chicago , demonstrators fought with police over the next few days.Many on both sides were wounded or killed in an event that’s now known as the “Haymarket Affair.”
1890: The US government began tracking workers’ hours .
The average workweek for full-time manufacturing employees was a whopping 100 hours .
1906: The eight-hour workday was instituted at two major firms in the printing industry.
September 3, 1916: Congress passed the Adamson Act , a federal law that established an eight-hour workday for interstate railroad workers.The Supreme Court constitutionalized the act in 1917.
September 25, 1926: Ford Motor Companies adopted a five-day, 40-hour workweek .
June 25, 1938: Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act , which limited the workweek to 44 hours.
June 26, 1940: Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act , limiting the workweek to 40 hours.
October 24, 1940: The Fair Labor Standards Act went into effect .
How the 40-hour workweek has evolved Despite the long work it took to make the 40-hour workweek a reality, research shows people do continue to log longer work hours .
In a survey by tax and professional services firm EY, half of managers around the world reported logging more than 40 hours a week.In the US, a whopping 58% of managers said they worked over 40 hours a week.
Presumably, some of that time is spent at home answering emails, instead of at the office.
Meanwhile, there’s evidence that some Americans see working around the clock as a kind of status symbol .While many people claim to be working 60- or 80-hour workweeks, much of that time isn’t very productive.In fields like finance and consulting, some workers may only be pretending to work 80-hour weeks, a recent study suggests.
In general, research suggests that we can handle working 60-hour weeks for three weeks — after that, we become less productive.
This story was originally published in June 2020..
