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The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

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Re: The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

#41

Post by notanidiot7 »

supervacuo wrote: post #25

Where on earth did the author find this revisionist nonsense? The 40-hour work week was won after a bitter decades-long fight by workers and unions against business owners. The idea that Ford bestowed it upon a grateful staff to improve capitalism is wrong, pointless and insulting. Here's an article in favour of shorter workdays that takes history a little more seriously: http://www.iww.org/history/library/misc/Bekke…

It's quite laughable that you call his story revisionist when yours meets the standard. How do you explain other countries having 40 hour work weeks with no "bitter decades-long" union fights necessary?

By the way, it's also quite laughable that you're citing a blatant biased piece from a union website. Please tell me you're just trolling.

Re: The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

#42

Post by jahaja »

notanidiot7 wrote: post #41
supervacuo wrote: post #25

Where on earth did the author find this revisionist nonsense? The 40-hour work week was won after a bitter decades-long fight by workers and unions against business owners. The idea that Ford bestowed it upon a grateful staff to improve capitalism is wrong, pointless and insulting. Here's an article in favour of shorter workdays that takes history a little more seriously: http://www.iww.org/history/library/misc/Bekke…

It's quite laughable that you call his story revisionist when yours meets the standard. How do you explain other countries having 40 hour work weeks with no "bitter decades-long" union fights necessary? By the way, it's also quite laughable that you're citing a blatant biased piece from a union website. Please tell me you're just trolling.

Are you for real or am I just imagining someone who just registered with the name "not an idiot" and yet provides a comment that indicate no capacity for deductive reasoning whatsoever?

Re: The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

#43

Post by vldx »

easy_rider wrote: post #26

> Because we have different energy levels at different times, > it would be counterproductive for my co-founders to work at > 9AM (just like it would be inefficient for me to be > working at 2AM). Here in The Netherlands, this is a tough sell. It's hard to come by a company that REALLY implements this policy. I've heard the "Just put in your 8 hours" and it often will have the side-clause "But we would like you to pu…

The story of my life.

Cheers!

Re: The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

#44

Post by supervacuo »

notanidiot7 wrote: post #41
supervacuo wrote: post #25

Where on earth did the author find this revisionist nonsense? The 40-hour work week was won after a bitter decades-long fight by workers and unions against business owners. The idea that Ford bestowed it upon a grateful staff to improve capitalism is wrong, pointless and insulting. Here's an article in favour of shorter workdays that takes history a little more seriously: http://www.iww.org/history/library/misc/Bekke…

It's quite laughable that you call his story revisionist when yours meets the standard. How do you explain other countries having 40 hour work weeks with no "bitter decades-long" union fights necessary? By the way, it's also quite laughable that you're citing a blatant biased piece from a union website. Please tell me you're just trolling.

Getting the 40-hour week took a revolution in France, Mexico and Russia, an incipient revolution in the UK and Chile, industrial action in Australia, Portugal and New Zealand...

If you really want to argue that the 40-hour work week was the product of benevolent capitalists I think you have to try a bit harder. Perhaps there's an Ayn Rand blog somewhere with some made-up facts you can use?

And yes, I linked to the website of a union.

The IWW worked tirelessly to bring about the 40-hour work week, as well as other fun bits like "weekends" and "workplace safety" (probably Ford's ideas too, right? -_-). I'd say they're in a better position to comment than either you or the author of the original misguided article.

Re: The Surprising Reason We Have a 40-Hour Work Week

#45

Post by csmuk »

clarry wrote: post #39
csmuk wrote: post #3

What you do is important, not the hours I agree, but do you know what changed my life for the better with respect to work and home without changing the hours? I stopped watching television.

For a while now I've had the feeling that I should stop watching Hacker News, and other online time suckers.

I thought that but Hacker News tends to be a good source of knowledge, inspiration and time saving ideas and products.

Granted there's a 1/5 chance of finding something golden but you break even eventually.

Other places, not so much.

About the only things I read are: HN, LWN and occasionally the Guardian.

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