When did the 40 hour work week get its start?

Question

Why is this the standard?

Answer 1

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed in 1938. This is the federal law that requires overtime to be paid after 40 hours worked in a work week. The idea is that by requiring employers to pay overtime pay at time and a half an employee's regular rate of pay, employers would instead hire someone else to do the work that the first employee did not complete within 40 hours, thereby increasing the number of jobs available in the market place (it would be cheaper to pay two employees the straight time rate only for 40 hours each, than it would be to pay one employee straight time for the first 40 hours and time and a half for the rest of the hours).

The 40-hour standard used in the FLSA comes from some of the government contracts acts that were passed earlier, where the government was trying to "level the playing field" by standardizing the wages paid to workers who worked on government contracts. They didn't want to give unfair advantage to contractors from areas of the country where the norm was to work longer hours or pay lower rates, which would enable them to undercut local contractors who were based in the areas where the projects were actually taking place.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

First in England in 1847. Before that, there were no rules, and people could be forced to work 10-16 hours a day for six days a week.

Thanks to labor reform movements like the AFL (yes, those pesky liberals), it slowly entered the work force, becoming the standard in the U.S. 1938.

Answer 3

really! I'm with you on that! Who started the deal that we have to work 40 hours a week to live? And even then, it's not enough to live on when rent is 600 a month and there's some jobs that still pay 5.15 an hour! Employers need to pay enough for their employees to live on!

Answer 4

It feels like the standards have been kicked up to 45+ per week. At least at my job. I can't stand it anymore!!! Sorry I can't answer with anything more than that it is society's norms. It is just another way to keep us under lock and key.