⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

How the 9-to-5 Came to Be and Why It No Longer Makes Sense (Infographic) Everybody's working for the weekend, but is it best to get 'er done in long, eight-hour stints? Probably not.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

Newsflash, boss: The days of the traditional 8-hour work day are numbered. It's as outdated as the 8-track.

Today, thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of worker's rights crusaders the world over -- and a little something called the Fair Labor Standards Act -- the average American working stiff logs about 8.7 hours a day on the clock. If you think that's too long, imagine how rough our ancestors had it during the Industrial Revolution. Back then, workers, often as young as 10 years old, toiled in sweltering factories for up to 16 hours at a time, six days a week. Many across the globe still do and then some.

Thankfully the days of sweatshop labor in the U.S. are largely behind us, and the vast majority of us are resigned to working in standard eight-hour shifts. That is, ideally with one short break after a few hours and a brief meal period (depending on your state's labor laws, your office culture and your propensity for workaholism). But, with the rise of telecommuting and other increasingly common alternative work arrangements, along with more and more people juggling multiple jobs, many are questioning if toiling in 8-hour stints is the really best way to work in the 21st century.

Related: Does a 6-Hour Workday Lead to Better Productivity? Sweden's About to Find Out.

After all, working long hours, which many of us do voluntarily without interruption (heck, we don't even take earned vacation time anymore) has been shown to cause fatigue, strain personal relationships and increase mistakes and accidents. And, here's the kicker, it can ironically also reduce productivity.

No wonder some think dividing the work day into strategic bursts of effort undertaken during your routinely most productive times -- as opposed to on an arbitrarily set schedule -- is probably a better idea. Even weaving in spells of meditation and mindless doodling into your work patterns can make you a happier and more successful employee or entrepreneur. Draw your own conclusions.

For more on how we ended up laboring for eight hours at a time, and why there's a movement afoot to shift away from the moth-eaten tradition, please, take a short break (remember those?) and peruse the thought-provoking infographic below. It comes to us care of Podio, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based provider of collaboration software for co-workers.

(In case you're inclined to do more research on this topic, here's the full list of sources used to create the infographic.)

Related: Should You Pay Employees an Hourly Wage or a Salary?

Click to Enlarge

Can You Guess the Largest Companies by Revenue in Each State?(Infographic)

Related: Labor Costs May Soar for Entrepreneurs

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

Costco CFO Reveals Uncertain Fate of $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo

CFO Richard Galanti reveals that the price will stay the same — but only "for a while."

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.