The Collapse of the 40-Hour Work Week: What Comes Next?

Quality over quantity? Less is more? These and probably a few more sayings perfectly fit into the idea that the 40-hour work week we’ve all perceived as the only way to work and be productive is anything but.

In this article, I take a deep dive into the topic of the 5-day work week and its alternatives. Read on and judge for yourself which mode of work you think should dominate our future.

40-Hour Work Week: A Thing of the Past?

Why do we work five days a week, 9 to 5? Some people may say that’s because it has always been like this. Well, not exactly. In the mid-1800s, working more than 70 hours a week was popular. In fact, even in the early years of the past century, people still worked extremely long hours.

It was only in the Roaring Twenties that things began to change, with Henry Ford introducing the five-day work week in his company. So, in 1926, workers at Ford started working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. This has become the norm to this day.

The Benefits and Disadvantages of a Classic 40-Hour Workweek

With a 5-day work week being almost 100 years old, it’s a good moment to analyze its strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s start with the benefits of a classic 9 to 5:

• Structured Routine: Some people like the consistency and predictability of a 40-hour work week, which makes it easier for them to plan personal and professional activities.
• Work-Life Separation: In theory, the classic work schedule is good at maintaining a clear boundary between work and personal life. But that’s only the case if your boss respects this boundary and doesn't use tech to reach you outside your work hours.
• Alignment with Society: The 40-hour work week is still the reality of most working class, so it’s easier to sync work and social activities.

Now, let’s see what’s not so good about a classic work week:

• Work-Life Balance: A rigid five-day workweek can cause burnout and mental health problems due to long working hours and limited personal time. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Occupational Health found that healthcare workers who worked approximately 60 hours or more per week had a twofold higher risk of work-related burnout compared to those working 40 hours per week. A classic work week also doesn’t leave much time for hobbies and quality time with family and friends. Plus, the struggle for work-life balance is even more visible for parents and caretakers as well as those who need to commute to their workplace.
• Productivity Concerns: Long hours may decrease productivity, especially for white-collar workers and creatives. Plus, the focus on hours rather than outcomes may encourage presenteeism, where workers are physically present but not productive.
• No Flexibility: The 40-hour work week is inflexible, which is a drawback for many professionals. Today’s workforce values flexibility more and more, especially after the pandemic.
• Negative Impact on Health: The 40-hour work week can lead to various health issues, as prolonged sitting and long work hours increase the risk of various ailments. Prolonged sitting and repetitive tasks are associated with back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and eye strain from extended screen use. Research highlights that nearly 80% of people experience back pain at some point, often linked to sedentary work environments. Similarly, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that repetitive motion injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome are common in office settings.
• Higher Employee Disengagement Risk: Rigid schedules and long hours can contribute to employee disengagement, as they may not align with modern workers' evolving expectations.
• Negative Impact on Family and Personal Life: The standard 40-hour workweek was designed in an era when family dynamics were markedly different. During its inception, it was common for one partner to work outside the home while the other handled housework and childcare or for families to live in multi-generational households with additional support. In modern times, where most adults in a household are employed and external support is less common, balancing work responsibilities with personal and family obligations has become significantly more challenging.

4-Day Work Week, Flexible Hours, and Other Alternatives

The way we work has remained the same over almost 100 years, yet the world has changed so greatly during this time. Today, the U.S. workforce is more than 4x times more productive than in the 1940s. It’s clear that we should look for solutions that better fit our times. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, many people have asked themselves if they live to work or work to live, a reflection that fueled both the Great Resignation and the widespread employee preference for remote work.

Plus, this world-changing event has also proven that working from home is a great alternative to being stuck at the office. Companies that try to force employees to return to the office are often in for a bad surprise—like the dating app Grindr, which lost almost half of its employees after trying to switch from remote to in-office work.

But in this article, I won’t discuss the endless benefits of remote work. I’d like to focus on work schedules, not the office vs. remote dilemma.

4-Day Work Week

A 4-day work week seems like a natural next step from the 5-day one since it preserves many familiar elements of the current way most people work. No wonder that in recent years, the concept of a 4-day work week has gained some significant traction, with companies like Bolt, Microsoft Japan, and others empirically testing it out.

Let’s take a closer look at Bolt, a San Francisco-founded SaaS company that made the 4-day work week a permanent solution after they started testing it in 2021—the same year they achieved their unicorn status. It’s no surprise that Bolt decided to become one of the companies with 4-day work weeks, as after the trial phase, 87% of managers reported maintained productivity and service levels, 94% of employees wanted the program to continue, and a whopping 86% of employees felt more efficient.

Other companies that have tried this model have experienced similar benefits of a 4-day work week. The idea of a 4-day work week has also been noticed by lawmakers. A bill shortening the standard work week under federal law from 40 hours to 32 hours has already been introduced to Congress.

Flexible Hours

Working flexible hours is another concept that aims to make the work week more employee-friendly. Flexihours allow employees to have more control over their work schedules, so they can choose when they start and finish their workdays. Usually, the companies that have embraced this solution still have some core hours when the workers are expected to work.

In fact, working hours flexibility was the most frequently mentioned reason for increased productivity, according to the workers surveyed by Gartner. Many companies have already implemented the flexihours approach, including giants like Unilever—the company has pledged to extend flexible working practiced to all its employees by 2030.

Shorter Work Days

Shortening the hours we work each day seems like a logical next step after various studies analyzing how many hours Americans are actually productive at work. One of them has shown that people in the U.S. work, on average, just 4 hours and 12 minutes a day. Another interesting piece of data comes from the UK, where workers are productive for just 2 hours and 53 minutes a day, and that’s regardless of how much time they spend at the office.

That’s why shortening the workday from 8 hours to 6 or even 5 hours seems like a change that could bring beneficial results. This is especially true for jobs that require creativity and focus, which, according to many experts, cannot be sustained for more than 4 to 5 hours per day. Plus, shorter hours translate to increased employee happiness and well-being. And what’s in it for the employers? Reduced absenteeism and increased productivity—one study has shown that happy employees are 13% more productive.

Results-Only Environment

Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a management strategy developed by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson at the beginning of this century. The core principle of ROWE is that workers are evaluated on their results and performance, not the number of hours they spend at work. This gives them complete control over their schedules and work locations—that is, as long as they deliver what’s expected of them.

ROWE can increase productivity and employee satisfaction, but only when the workload is reasonable and doesn’t increase the risk of burnout. When implemented well, ROWE can help companies attract top talent and save costs, as this model of management usually comes hand in hand with remote work.

Conclusion

Not adjusting how we work after almost 100 years of holding on to the 5-day work week would be a stark manifestation of utter ignorance, especially given that the current workplace is increasingly influenced by technological advances, especially generative AI.

What’s more, it’s worth noting that implementing a four-day workweek and other solutions can significantly benefit employees and employers. If that weren’t a classic win-win scenario, many successful companies would never have adopted five-day workweek alternatives permanently.

We cannot also forget about the huge issue of quiet quitting, aka employee disengagement, which remains one of the biggest challenges hindering companies from achieving their maximum potential. That’s yet another issue that ditching the five-day workweek can solve. And just think how many more modern-day problems can be minimized if we successfully manage to build a workforce that is both happy and productive.

Change is always possible if there is a will. Just look at Ford, who, in 1926, not only became the pioneer of his time by revolutionizing his employees' work schedules but also changed his mind about offering his customers cars in "any color, as long as it’s black." With 2026 just behind the corner, it’s the perfect occasion to reassess if our blind faith in the 5-day work week has not been robbing us of experiencing our lives in full color.

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Sources

• Library of Congress Blogs, "40 hours, 5 days"
• CNN Business, “Dating app Grindr loses nearly half its staff after trying to force a return to office” 
• Pew Research Center, "COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape work in America"
• DI. Rubin, "Epidemiology and risk factors for spine pain"
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration, "Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders”
• Journal of Occupational Health, “Long working hours and burnout in health care workers: Non-linear dose-response relationship and the effect mediated by sleeping hours—A cross-sectional study"