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Although it is rarely discussed in the media, the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to establish a 30-hour workweek in 1933. While that legislation ultimately failed because of intense opposition from corporate America, a few years later President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law and a 40-hour workweek was established in 1940.
Unbelievably, 84 years later, despite massive growth in technology and worker productivity, nothing has changed.
Today, American workers are more than 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, despite this fact, millions of our people are working longer hours for lower wages. In fact, 28.5 million Americans now work over 60 hours a week and more than half of full-time employees work more than 40 hours a week.
The sad reality is, Americans work more hours than the people of most other wealthy nations. In 2022, U.S. workers logged 204 more hours a year than employees in Japan; 279 more hours than those in the United Kingdom; and 470 more hours than those in Germany.
Despite these long hours, the average worker in America makes almost $50 a week less than he or she did 50 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.
Let that sink in for a moment. In a 1974 office, there were no computers, email, cellphones, conference calling or Zoom. In factories and warehouses, there were no robots or sophisticated machinery, no cloud computing. In grocery stores and shops of all kinds, there were no checkout counters using bar codes.
Think about all the incredible advancements in technology — computers, robotics, artificial intelligence — and the huge increase in worker productivity that has been achieved. What have been the results of these changes for working people? Almost all the economic gains have gone straight to the top, while wages for workers are stagnant or worse.
While CEOs are making nearly 400 times as much as their average employees, many workers are seeing their family lives fall apart, missing their children’s birthday parties and Little League Baseball games, as they are forced to spend more time at work. What stresses them out even further is that many still do not have enough money to pay rent, put food on the table and send their kids to college without going deeply into debt.
This should not be happening in the United States of America in 2024. It’s time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay.
Let’s be clear. This is not a radical idea: Belgium has already adopted a four-day workweek. Other developed countries are moving toward this model, such as France (35-hour workweek and considering reducing to 32) and Norway and Denmark (roughly 37-hour workweek). In 2019, Microsoft tested a four-day workweek in Japan and reported a 40 percent increase in productivity.
Last year, the United Kingdom conducted a four-day workweek pilot program of 3,000 workers at more than 60 companies, and it was a huge success for both workers and employers. Over 73 percent of workers who participated in this program reported greater satisfaction with their work. Businesses that participated in this program saw a 35 percent average increase in revenue, and 91 percent of businesses opted to continue a four-day workweek after the study concluded.
Studies have shown that workers are either equally or more productive during a four-day workweek — one study found that worker productivity rose, with 55 percent saying their ability at work increased after companies adopted this new schedule. In addition, 57 percent of workers in companies that have moved to a four-day workweek have indicated that they are less likely to quit their jobs.
Moreover, at a time when so many of our people are struggling with their mental health, 71 percent of workers in companies that have moved to a four-day workweek report feeling less burnout, 39 percent reported feeling less stress and 46 percent reported feeling less fatigued.
Even Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, and Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, predicted last year that advancements in technology could lead to a three- or 3½-day workweek.
The question is: Who will benefit from this transformation? Will it be the billionaire class or workers? In our view, the choice is obvious. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality and huge increases in productivity, the financial gains from new technology must go to workers, not just to the people on top.
As part of their historic contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) — the United Auto Workers called for the introduction of a four-day, 32-hour workweek at the same rate of pay and overtime pay for anything beyond that.
Despite significant gains for workers in their new contract, they were not successful in winning that demand. The struggle continues.
Senator Bernie Sanders is an Independent representing Vermont.
