As the two-day weekend celebrates its centennial, many are advocating for a revision of the calendar system.
“Very few people today recall life before the establishment of a five-day workweek and a two-day weekend,” remarked Grace Tallon, co-founder of Work Time Revolution, a consultancy based in Toronto dedicated to promoting shorter work hours.
Experts in labor history and advocates for reforming workweeks emphasize that significant changes have occurred since the two-day weekend was standardized about a hundred years ago, varying by region across the globe.
Tallon highlights that only 20 percent of women participated in the workforce back then. “Currently, we predominantly see dual-income households, yet we continue to operate under a five-day workweek that fails to adequately support families.”
Additionally, specialists note that the concept of the weekend is a construct of human society that has previously changed and can certainly change again.
Grace Tallon, co-founder of Work Time Revolution, notes that our work and living conditions have evolved significantly since we last evaluated the workweek duration. (Submitted by Grace Tallon)
The emergence of the two-day weekend
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, long workweeks were the standard.
“Essentially, for wage earners, the typical workweek consisted of six days, with ten-hour shifts each day,” explained labor historian Craig Heron, a professor emeritus at York University in Toronto.
“The weekend began with Sunday, a day off for religious observance,” Heron stated during an interview with Cost of Living host Paul Haavardsrud.
Although Henry Ford is often recognized for implementing the two-day weekend, the reality is more complex, involving years of efforts by the labor movement.
Before Ford’s introduction of the five-day workweek, smaller groups of workers had already achieved similar reforms.
“The printers were among the most notable groups,” Heron noted. “They secured an eight-hour workday by around 1910.”
An illustration from the Canadian Illustrated News depicts workers participating in a Nine-Hour Movement march in Hamilton, Ont., in 1872, advocating for shorter working hours and contributing to significant changes in Canadian labor laws. (Canadian Illustrated News/Library and Archives Canada)
When Ford declared in October 1926 that his factories would adopt a five-day workweek, it marked the first instance of a major U.S. company doing so.
At that same time, the American Federation of Labor passed a resolution during its annual congress advocating for a five-day workweek, according to Heron.
However, widespread acceptance of the two-day weekend, including in Canada, took some time, he adds.
Initially, many workplaces in North America and beyond reduced Saturday work to just half a day.
The labor movement gained momentum in the 1940s as World War II heightened the need for workers, empowering unions to negotiate for shorter workdays through significant strikes, he explains.
Governments started to take notice and began to legislate accordingly.
In workplaces that implemented policies to reduce hours while maintaining pay through trials led by the non-profit 4-Day Week Global, participants reported improved ability to balance work with their social lives. (Tint Media/Shutterstock)
Changes in work dynamics
Since then, the landscape of work has transformed dramatically, impacting the perception of whether a two-day weekend is sufficient.
“Many individuals now have more flexible work schedules, often working remotely and at all hours, being available on call at any moment,” Heron noted. “Their phones could ring at any time at their employer’s request.”
While working hours saw a steady decline from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, they began to rise again afterward, according to David Henkin, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are.
The blurring of lines between work and personal life has not only increased the workload for many but has also “diminished the psychological buffers that separate individuals from work,” he adds.
Imagining every weekend as a long weekend
The push to counteract this erosion is fueling interest in a four-day workweek.
Tallon, previously the executive director of the non-profit 4-Day Week Global, which initiated four-day workweek trials in 2022 with reduced hours but unchanged pay, mentioned that all 41 participating companies in Canada and the U.S. chose to maintain the four-day schedule after the six-month trials concluded.
One such company is Praxis, a public relations agency based in Toronto.
Meredith Nebel, an account director at Praxis, reports that transitioning to a four-day workweek has allowed her to reserve weekends for family activities, as she can complete errands, chores, and appointments on Fridays. (Submitted by Meredith Nebel)
Meredith Nebel, who serves as an account director at Praxis, explains that days off are staggered among colleagues, ensuring coverage while she is unavailable on Fridays, “and I take on their Monday tasks to maintain workflow.”
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Nebel expresses doubt about returning to a five-day workweek.
“I have more opportunities to spend time with my children, engage with my community, and pursue my own interests and personal growth,” she stated.
She utilizes Fridays to tackle appointments, household tasks, and chores, ensuring that weekends are dedicated to family and children’s activities.
Charles Latimer, an employee at Greenpeace, shares that having Fridays off since the organization transitioned to a four-day workweek has enabled him to volunteer.
“I recently started a kids’ basketball program after daycare on Tuesdays,” said Latimer, who works remotely from Lund, B.C., located roughly 200 kilometers north of Vancouver.
On Fridays, Latimer manages administrative responsibilities for the program and looks after his four-year-old child, who stays home from daycare.
Charles Latimer, pictured with his four-year-old daughter and their dog, works as the head of strategic integration for Greenpeace, which has moved to a four-day work schedule. (Submitted by Charles Latimer)
Consultant Grace Tallon emphasizes that transitioning to a four-day workweek requires careful planning. “This may involve restructuring meetings and ensuring that everyone has focused work time, which may not have been respected before.”
At Praxis, Nebel mentions that completing work in a shorter timeframe has not posed any challenges.
“Tasks tend to expand to fill the time allotted,” she stated. “However, with the four-day workweek, there is a natural urgency that leads to more intentional planning and clarity on what truly needs to be accomplished.”
‘The week is arbitrary’
We often perceive the week — characterized by five workdays followed by two days of rest — as a fixed arrangement.
Yet, Henkin argues that the concept of the week itself, along with its divisions, is significantly more arbitrary compared to other time measurement units.
“The week is arbitrary because it is not fundamentally based on any astronomical events that create days, hours, or years, nor does it stem from biological cycles that regulate day and night patterns.”
Tallon asserts that whether an organization is considering a four-day workweek or simply aiming to reduce excessive hours, it revolves around “how to value your own time and how the organization respects that time as well.”
“Numerous individuals then feel empowered to turn off notifications in the evenings, knowing they do not need to constantly check in because nothing catastrophic will occur.”
