A 40 hour work week is 8 hours a day for 5 days, which adds up to about 2,080 hours a year. It is the standard full-time schedule in the US, and the Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week.
Below, we cover what a 40 hour work week looks like in practice, how it came to be, how well it works, and what could replace it.
What Does A 40 Hour Work Week Look Like?
A 40 hour work week is 8 working hours a day, Monday to Friday. Most people spend closer to 9 hours at work each day, because an unpaid lunch break of about an hour is not counted toward the 40.
The same 40 hours can be arranged in a few common ways:
| Schedule | Days | Hours per day | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 5 | 8 | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a 1 hour lunch, Monday to Friday |
| Compressed | 4 | 10 | 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a 30 minute lunch, Monday to Thursday |
| Flexible | 5 | 8 on average | Core hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the remaining hours worked whenever suits the employee |
Each schedule adds up to the same 40 hours. How those hours are spread across the week affects commute time, energy at the end of the day, and how much flexibility employees have.
How Many Hours Is A 40 Hour Work Week Per Day, Month, And Year?
A 40 hour work week is 8 hours a day over 5 days. Over a full year, that comes to 2,080 working hours.
| Period | Hours |
|---|---|
| Per day | 8 |
| Per week (5 days) | 40 |
| Per month | About 173 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | 2,080 |
These figures count every week of the year as a full 40 hours. In practice, paid time off and public holidays reduce the hours an employee actually works, so the real annual total is lower.
The History Of The 40 Hour Work Week
1817: Robert Owen's eight-hour day slogan
Robert Owen formulated the goal of an eight-hour day and coined a slogan that split the day into eight hours of work, eight hours of recreation, and eight hours of rest. At the time, working days of 10 to 16 hours and six-day weeks were typical.
1866: The first national call for an eight-hour day
The National Labor Union made the first national call for an eight-hour workday on August 20. Congress did not act on it at the time, but the campaign continued.
1869: Eight-hour day for federal workers
Congress had approved an act in 1868 making eight hours a day's work for laborers, workmen, and mechanics employed by the federal government. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation enforcing it and ordering that their pay not be reduced. The rule applied only to federal workers.
1886: The May Day strike and Haymarket
On May 1, about 35,000 workers went on strike for an eight-hour day. On May 4, a rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square turned violent after a bomb was thrown at police. Seven police officers were killed by the bomb, and four workers were shot dead by police. No one knows who threw it. The events led to International Workers' Day, held every May 1.
1926: Ford adopts the five-day week
On May 1, Ford Motor Company became one of the first companies in America to adopt a five-day, 40 hour week for workers in its automotive factories. Other manufacturers later followed.
1938: The Fair Labor Standards Act
Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set the maximum work week at 44 hours before overtime had to be paid.
1940: The 40 hour week phased in
The act's 40 hour maximum work week was phased in by 1940 for most workers in manufacturing.
How Effective Are 40 Hour Work Weeks?
No single schedule suits everyone, so it is hard to say what the most efficient number of working hours is.
Most companies and full-time employees use eight-hour workdays, five days a week. Does that mean a 40 hour work week is ideal?
The evidence is mixed. In a survey by Vouchercloud of 1,989 full-time UK office workers, the average worker estimated that they were productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes of an 8-hour day. These are self-reported estimates, not measured time.
Respondents said they spent their time like this:
- Just over 1 hour on news websites.
- 44 minutes on social media.
- 40 minutes on non-work conversation with coworkers.
- 26 minutes looking for a new job.
- 23 minutes on smoking breaks.
- About 15 minutes on snacking and food preparation.
Now let's look at a Zapier survey of 1,000 people who work at or own small and medium-sized businesses.
- The largest group (29%) say they spend 4-5 hours a day on their core functions.
- 18% say they spend only an hour or so a day on those core functions.
- 81% say they spend less than 3 hours a day on creative work, and 76% say they spend less than 3 hours a week on strategic work.
- 90% say they spend up to 5 hours a day checking work messenger apps.
These figures suggest that many workers are far from fully productive in a 40 hour work week, though the data is self-reported. Some organizations have gone further and tested whether fewer hours could work just as well.
A Case Study On The Four Day Work Week
Perpetual Guardian
Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services firm, is one of the best-known case studies of a shorter work week. In a trial in March and April 2018, staff worked four days a week with their pay unchanged. Researchers from two New Zealand universities measured the results.
- Productivity increased by 20%.
- Stress levels dropped from 45% to 38%.
- Work-life balance scores improved from 54% to 78%.
The results suggest that fewer working hours do not have to mean less output, at least for some knowledge-work teams. This was one eight-week trial at one company, though, and whether a 40 hour week still makes sense depends on the type of work, which the next section covers.
When Is The 40 Hour Work Week Not Practical?
In some industries, such as construction, a reduced work week is not feasible.
Even when their employees are incredibly motivated and engaged at work, their tasks take time to complete. In some instances, a reduced work week may require employees to work overtime to complete the necessary amount of labor.
Working overtime eliminates any potential benefits of a shortened work week for your employees. Furthermore, your company will have to pay far more in overtime compensation to achieve the same level of value.
Now, let's look at the pros and cons:
The 40 Hour Work Week at a Glance
8 hours a day × 5 days = 40 hours a week = 2,080 hours a year
Pros
- Predictable routine. The same hours every week make it easier to plan life around work.
- Easy coordination. Teams are available at the same time for meetings and handoffs.
- Clear overtime rule. In the US, most covered employees must be paid overtime for hours beyond 40 in a work week.
- Simple to manage. It needs no special scheduling policy.
Cons
- Limited flexibility. Fixed hours leave little room for personal schedules or peak-energy times.
- Time is not always productive. In one UK survey, workers estimated about 2 hours 53 minutes of an 8-hour day was productive.
- Five commutes a week. A compressed schedule can cut a day of travel time and cost.
- Alternatives are being tested. The UK four-day week pilot kept pay unchanged and saw lower burnout.
How To Craft The Perfect 40 Hour Work Week For Full Efficiency?
Start each work week with a plan
A good work week starts with a plan. People are often so busy with their jobs that they never stop to check whether they are spending their time well, so it helps to decide in advance how you will use your 40 hours.
You can hold a longer planning session on Friday afternoon to set the schedule for the following week, and spend a few minutes at the end of each day updating the next day's agenda.
Dedicate more hours to core production
Core production is the work you are paid to do. Spend the most hours on it, and build the rest of your week around it.
Block out the largest share of your week for core production, ideally during the hours when you are most alert and have the fewest interruptions. Plan these blocks in advance, and protect them from distractions.
Make time for creative activities
Creative work, such as coming up with new ideas and better ways of doing things, also deserves a place in your week. Set aside time for it on your calendar, because it is easy to crowd out.
Build workplace relationships
Time with coworkers is a large part of a 40 hour work week, so it is worth setting aside regular time to cultivate solid working connections. Build workplace relationships with an accountability group, people you usually work with, or your vendors.
Work on external networking
Any act that creates strong personal ties with other people is referred to as networking. It's a vital activity, and some might call it a necessary evil, for improving your profession or, if you're an entrepreneur, for getting new business and meeting investors.
Networking does not need a dedicated block of time. Every post, message, and comment is a chance to connect. You can also take part in media interviews, reconnect with former coworkers, write industry articles, or attend networking events.
Keep track of how you spend your time
It is hard to tell whether your time matches your plans until you know how you are spending it. Keeping a time log is a good way to find your starting point, and these time management techniques can help you make the most of the time you find. If the log shows gaps on Wednesdays and Thursdays, for example, use that time to brainstorm ideas for the next project. This also makes it easier to set SMART goals and build realistic plans.
Four Best Alternatives To The 40 Hour Work Week
1. Flextime
You can let employees choose when they start and finish their workday, as long as they are available during agreed core hours for meetings and shared activities.
Read our blog on: Flexible Working Hours: Benefits, Policy, and How to Make It Work
2. Telework
Often known as telecommuting, telework lets employees work one to five days a week from home or anywhere remote, which suits people who don't want a regular 40 hour week. A clear work from home policy helps teams set expectations.
3. Compressed work week
Working four ten-hour shifts a week instead of five eight-hour shifts creates a compressed work week. It can also save employees money, because they commute one day less.
4. 32 hour work week
The 32 hour work week means working four days a week for eight hours each day while still earning full pay. In a UK pilot that ran from June to December 2022, 61 companies and about 2,900 employees moved to a four-day week with pay unchanged. By the end, 71% of employees reported lower burnout, and 56 of the 61 companies (92%) were continuing with a four-day week. These results come from one pilot, so they may not apply to every industry.
Conclusion: Is The 40 Hour Work Week Now Obsolete?
The 40 hour work week is still the standard full-time schedule in the US, and overtime rules still use it as the benchmark. The productivity surveys, the Perpetual Guardian trial, and the UK pilot do not prove it should go, but they do show that employers are testing whether the same work can be done in fewer hours.
For some roles, flextime, remote work, or a shorter week may work as well as a standard one. For others, such as construction, a shorter week is not practical.
FAQs About The 40 Hour Work Week
1. How many hours is a 40 hour work week per day?
A 40 hour work week is 8 hours a day over 5 days. On a four-day schedule it is 10 hours a day. Over a full year it comes to 2,080 hours, before paid time off and holidays.
2. Who invented the 40 hour work week?
No single person invented it. It grew out of more than a century of labor campaigns for shorter hours. Ford Motor Company became one of the first major US employers to adopt a five-day, 40 hour week for its factory workers on May 1, 1926, and other manufacturers followed. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 then set a 44 hour maximum before overtime, which came down to 40 hours by 1940.
3. Why do we work 40 hours a week?
It came from long campaigns to cut very long working weeks. Ford's 1926 switch showed that a shorter week could work for a large employer. The 1938 law later made 40 hours the line after which employers must pay overtime, which is why it became the standard.
4. Is the 40 hour work week outdated?
It is still the standard full-time schedule in the US, but several alternatives exist. These include flextime, remote work, a compressed schedule of four 10 hour days, and a 32 hour week. Some jobs need coverage during fixed hours, so a shorter or flexible schedule does not suit every role.
Susmita Sarma is a Digital Marketer at Vantage Circle, making employee recognition less of a checkbox and more meaningful - helping organizations say we value our people and truly mean it.
Connect with Susmita on LinkedIn.
