Who came up with the 40-hour work week? And why?
According to a 2014 story from NBC News, eight-hour days “became rallying cries in the latter half of the 19th century, as workers in the building trades and similar industries marched together for better conditions.” The article also states that The Ford Motor Company “advanced the idea in 1914, when it scaled back from a 48-hour to a 40-hour workweek after founder Henry Ford believed that too many hours were bad for workers’ productivity.”
Work conditions are much improved thanks to the efforts of many in prior generations. Even so, a growing number of workers today think 40 hours on the clock per week is too much. A generation of workers are often criticized for not being willing to “put in the hours.”
The pandemic certainly didn’t help many employers with this dilemma. The idea of expecting employees to come to the office or work site on time and put in a full eight hours before heading home has seemingly become an idea of the past, at least for some.
With labor shortages aplenty, many some have given in to demands for reduced hours, more vacation and increased benefits because they don’t have a choice. Meanwhile, the companies that do this then often have greater expenses and less output, resulting in a decrease of profits and, ultimately, an increase in the consumers’ cost of the company’s products or services. In other words, inflation. This working-less approach is a vicious circle and one that we all seemingly end up paying for, one way or another.
Meanwhile, the old adage that the road to success doesn’t have any short cuts will continue to prove to be true. It takes hard work. And 40 hours per week.
Have a telling Tuesday, and, as always, thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707