100 years since the introduction of the 5-day week, the European Work-Time Network reflects on what’s next.
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Learn more about the 100-year anniversary of the 5-day week at the 4-Day Week Foundation.
Video transcript:
One hundred years ago, Henry Ford introduced the five-day working week. It was one milestone in a longer struggle for reduced working time. And, a century on, the European Work-Time Network asks: what does this mean for us today?
The story of working time reduction doesn’t start with Ford. Twelve to sixteen hour days and six day weeks were normal in the 20th century, but the labour movement fought back. “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.” Bit by bit, through strikes and legislation, working time was reduced.
In Europe, workers and trade unions have been at the forefront of the struggle. France’s forty-hour week in 1936, Scandinavia’s pioneering leave entitlements, the legal floor set by the EU Working Time Directive in 2003.
Today, progress has stalled. Millions of workers face long hours, unpaid overtime, and the always-on pressure of the digital economy. The gains of productivity growth have not been given to workers.
Overwork damages our health. Long hours are linked to burnout, depression, and cardiovascular disease, shorter hours with higher wellbeing and life satisfaction. Rest is not a luxury.
The economic arguments are compelling too – four-day week trials across Europe show shorter hours do not mean less output. Productivity improves when workers have time to rest and recover.
Working time reduction is relevant for gender equality, those with caring responsibilities and disability justice. It creates space for unpaid work to be shared more fairly and health better managed.
And shorter hours are good for the planet. Less overwork could mean less overconsumption, and working time reduction is a core tenet of any economic system beyond growth.
The European Work-Time Network connects researchers, trade unionists, activists, and policymakers across Europe — advancing knowledge, dialogue, and cooperation on working time reduction. One hundred years after Ford’s five-day week, it is time to write the next chapter — a four-day week, not as a perk, but as a new social norm.
Join our Network at worktimenet.eu. Whether you are a researcher, a trade unionist, an activist, or simply someone who believes life is more than work — there is a place for you here. The next hundred years start now.
