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.

Appreciated for what it was at the time. I get you.

Reminded me of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk_XylEmLo

It is more made to debunk the idea that capitalism has given humanity more leisure time. But relevant here too because makes the case that historically people worked even less than the 'typical' week we have today.

It makes me wonder if the reason we mostly feel like working 40+ hours is too much is because people really don't seem to have worked that much until the industrial age.

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.

Before that it was common for workweek to be 10 or 12 hours.

10-12 hours per day*, dangerous typo

Technically, if your shift is long enough and timed properly, you can have daytime going in and coming out.

God bless unions. Now can they negotiate a four day work week?

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.

We can keep applying yet more effort. This is better than 6 day work week, but we can do even better

Keep in mind that before that, people worked much less in winter and still less than today in summer

That's was unions

Just because things were worse in the past doesn't mean they can't be better in the future.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/07/india-debate-on-70-hour-workweek-illegal-or-road-to-greatness.html

Indians currently work an average of 47.7 hours a week — higher than the U.S. (36.4), the UK (35.9), and Germany (34.4), according to the International Labour Organization.

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy recently sparked a controversy on social media when he said young people should be working 70 hours a week to boost India’s economy.

Perhaps it's common for the workweek to be that long in the informal economy, but the official data at least doesn't reflect that.

And in 50-70 years someone can make an internet post about how people wanting a 4 day work week were satan