Why Is a Typical Workday 9 to 5?

As Dolly Parton said, somewhat sarcastically, "Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living." But the 9-to-5 workday hasn’t always been the norm for American workers.

For more than 150 years, workers had to endure tough conditions, legal bureaucracy, and some forward-thinking employers before they finally secured what’s now considered a typical workday. Here's how politicians, businessmen, and the average American worker shaped the modern 9-to-5 workday.

The Legal Origins of Work Hours

Early American factories saw workers putting in 12-hour days, with employees sometimes working as many as 74 hours or six days per week. The struggle to keep up was difficult for workers in physically demanding jobs, leading to state-level laws to reduce hours. In 1840, President Martin Van Buren even issued an executive order mandating a limited 10-hour workday for federal employees in manual jobs.

By the late 1800s, workers were beginning to build labor unions, which led to more organized protests against excessive work hours and a push for legislation to restrict working hours. The American Federation of Labor pushed for shorter work hours with publications carrying its slogan, "Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will."

Some states did pass restrictions on work hours, but these laws often only covered women and children. One expert who studied work hours estimated that by 1900, only 16% of working men were covered under these state laws, while 49% of women were protected, with child labor making up the rest of the workforce included in these mandates.

Work trends changed after 1900, with a slow decline in work hours and then the Great Depression. Finally, in 1938, Franklin Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act that set the workweek at 44 hours, along with specific rules for overtime pay above those hours. Two years later, the act was amended to reduce the workweek to 40 hours, which is the standard today.

How One Industry Leader Shaped the Workday

While politicians passed legislation, some industry leaders shaped their own versions of the 9-to-5 workday.

One of the most prominent of these industrialists was Henry Ford. Ford, who founded the namesake car company, is known for several innovative changes when it came to work conditions for his employees.

In 1914, Ford announced the establishment of an eight-hour workday for $5 a day. That more than doubled the salaries of workers from $2.30 a day. He believed that workers who didn't have to worry about money problems at home would be more focused at work. But the increase did come with some stipulations. Workers had to stick with high moral standards such as keeping their homes clean, not drinking alcohol, and contributing to savings accounts.

The $5, eight-hour workday caught on with other manufacturers who adopted the plan after seeing Ford Motor Company's success, which boosted productivity and loyalty among the company's employees. The move set in place a typical, eight-hour day in the private sector with daytime workers manufacturing cars from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., even before the federal Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted.

In 1926, Ford also adopted the five-day workweek, giving his workers a routine that many Americans find familiar today. It set in place the modern-day weekend followed by most employers.

"It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either 'lost time' or a class privilege," Ford said.

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