The reason we have 8-hours, 5-day work week, is because of Henry ford.
Hard to imagine but our 8 hours, 5 day work week schedule was actually a process evolved from the industrial revolution.
The Industrial revolution was when companies like Ford Motor Company introduced the revolutionary concept of machine lines in factories and systematized production at scale.
Ford’s assembly line and the invention of the mass production automobile, the Model T, was a literal game-changer in the 1900s.
Ironically, factory workers were pulling long hours, more than 9 hours a day, in order to meet production and ensure quality.
“On 5 January 1914 the Ford Motor Company took the radical step of doubling pay to $5 a day (adjusted for inflation: $129.55 as of 2020) and cut shifts from nine hours to eight, moves that were not popular with rival companies, although seeing the increase in Ford’s productivity, and a significant increase in profit margin (from $30 million to $60 million in two years), most soon followed suit.”
See! Even back then in the early 1900s, pioneers like Henry Ford knew something about mental wellness and that it had a direct impact on productivity and output!
It was so effective, every other company adopted and learnt from Ford, which in turn uplifted the entire ecosystem.
With the help of globalization, such practices perpetuated and remained over time.
This is why, even today, during the internet age, we are still largely on a 8 hours, 5 day work week schedule, at least the big corporations.
Can you imagine Ford not stepping in and pushing for 8 hours instead of 9?
Startups and founders, thankfully we don’t follow all of that.
We are way beyond that.
We work 24/7, 365 days.
So, on average, how many hours do you work a day?
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