A 40-hour workweek has been standard in the United States since 1940, after Henry Ford discovered that 48-hour workweeks resulted in only a small increase in productivity that lasted a short period of time. After this principle being followed for over eight decades, some members of congress are advocating for hourly employees to be given an extra day off.
As of the week of March 10th, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced a bill that would shorten Americans’ workweeks to 32 hours. Under this bill, any American citizen who exceeds the 32-hour workweek would be mandated to receive overtime pay. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from reducing their employees’ pay to match their lost hours.
Critics of the 32-hour workweek claim that a shorter workweek could be particularly detrimental to hands-on manufacturing jobs, being that a shorter timeframe would decrease production rates. They additionally explain that less hours for existing workers will pressure employers to hire more workers, and paying more employees can be costly. To compensate for the loss of funding, companies would have to increase their consumer prices.
When asked how an extra day off of work could be beneficial, Lauren Sullivan, a teacher at Great Neck Village School, explains “my colleagues and I frequently talk about the difference we feel between a two day and three day weekend, and it drastically changes our quality of life.