The idea came from a British guy called Robert Owen in the 19th century. It was a huge step forward in workers rights seeing as it was fairly normal for factories to work from sunrise to sunset to try and maximise their output.
Typical working hours were 10-18 hrs a day 6 to 7 days a week
I’m not saying I love working 8hrs a day and modern society can definitely do better but this was a positive step forward in history and should be celebrated… celebrated isn’t quite the right word but I hope you get what I mean
Yeah, anyone calling the creator of the 40-hour work week “Satan” is obviously ignorant of the history of labour.
As you said, we can definitely do better, but at the time it was (quite literally) revolutionary.
Yup, we need to get 6 hour 4 days a week now, so people in 2100 can call us satanic for wasting so many hours working.
You do realize that it was invented by people fighting desperately for work to not be 10 hours a day 6 days a week, yes?
Nah, man. Satan is the man who made 8 hours a day look like a fantastical demand back then.
Whoever invented the eight hour five day work week is Satan.
Unions. Unions won the five day eight hour workweek after heavy, sometimes bloody conflicts with employers. Before that it was common for workweek to be 10 or 12 hours a day.
Too many people are ignorant of the role Unions played in American history. I assume they were brought up in places where the GOP controls the schools.
Op, you don’t seem aware that getting the work week down to this took a very concerted effort
While I agree, the amount of productivity that’s increased since the 5 day work week was established has made it reasonable to once again change the norm. That, or pay workers equivalent to the increase in productivity that has happened. It’s all going somewhere.
Source for productivity gains?
Thanks for backing me up
