Henry Ford cut the work week to five days in 1926 and productivity went up.
For most of the nineteenth century, the standard American work week ran six days, Monday through Saturday. Workers in manufacturing and industry routinely logged 10 to 16 hours a day.1
The five-day work week did not arrive through legislation. In 1908, a New England cotton mill became one of the first American factories to adopt a five-day schedule, in part to accommodate Jewish workers who observed the Sabbath on Saturday.2
In 1926, Henry Ford instituted an eight-hour day, five-day work week at Ford Motor Company. Ford's decision was motivated by his observation that well-rested workers were more productive, and that workers with free time would spend more money on consumer goods, including automobiles.3
The move stimulated a national conversation. Other major employers followed. During the Great Depression, the idea of reducing work hours further gained traction as a way to address mass unemployment.
In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which required employers to pay overtime for work exceeding 40 hours per week. The five-day, 40-hour week became the legal standard for most American workers.4
Cereal manufacturer W.K. Kellogg went further. In 1930, he instituted six-hour shifts at his Battle Creek, Michigan, plant, replacing eight-hour shifts. The shorter schedule persisted, primarily among women workers, until the mid-1980s.5