A TikToker is going viral for explaining why the 40-hour workweek is 'outdated’

Why do we have a 40-hour workweek? It’s the question at the heart of a viral TikTok by management coach Emily Ballesteros. Ballesteros begins her video by noting that the concept of a 40-hour workweek was created by the Ford Motor Company in the early 1900s. As Ballesteros points out, the concept proved effective for industrial jobs asked people to perform one, repeated task. “We rolled over this eight-hour [per day] framework into industries where it doesn’t make sense,” the TikToker explains. Additionally, Americans didn’t have the technology to efficiently work from home. “This framework was created by one man, in one industry, 100 years ago — and we have not improved it,” Ballesteros added. The management coach suggested that every industry do some “critical thinking” to see what type of workweek suits their employees best. Many TikTokers seemed to agree. “This argument works for so many outdated concepts created years ago,” one user wrote. “I feel like Covid proved that we don’t actually need to be in an office anymore,” another added