Productivity and the Workweek

What if, instead of using productivity increases to buy more possessions, we used them to get more time instead?



Productivity has been increasing exponentially for more than a century. This is one of the most remarkable developments of all time. Until a few decades ago, this bounty has been used both for increased material comfort and for more time. However, in recent decades, the increase has been used exclusively to purchase more things; hours have actually increased in the US. Meanwhile, there has been little increase in subjective well-being in developed countries in recent decades.



An average worker needs to work a mere 11 hours per week to produce as much as one working 40 hours per week in 1950. (The data here is from the US, but productivity increases in Europe and Japan have been of the same magnitude.) The conclusion is inescapable: if productivity means anything at all, a worker should be able to earn the same standard of living as a 1950 worker in only 11 hours per week. The following shows the number of hours per week needed to produce as much as a 1950 worker, using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, including both manufacuring and services:







Number of hours per week needed to produce as much as a 40-hour worker in 1950









Number of hours per week needed to produce as much as a 40-hour worker in 1975



Fast productivity growth is not necessary for reduced work time



already

Shorter hours and the notion of progress

Interestingly, as an article on labor history notes, shorter hours were assumed to be a natural consequence of increased productivity in the US until the 1930's, appearing in the platforms of all major parties, and the above shows how the workweek would have evolved had the trend continued after World War II. In Europe, reduced worktime has continued to be an issue, and the workweek has been declining in recent times, unlike in the US. However, even in Europe, the decline in work time has fallen far behind the increase in productivity.

Who benefits from productivity increases

Conclusion

Postscript

See also:

A discussion on the value of productivity statistics from one perspective - that they have underestimated growth.

Statistics from the German Federation of Trade Unions showing how productivity has enabled shorter working time in Germany (although only a minority of the increase has been taken in the form of shorter hours). The page is in German, but the four lines are, from top to bottom: productivity per hour, GDP, total number of workers, and annual number of hours worked per employee.

The chief of the German Confederation of Trade Unions calls for a 25-hour week (translated into English).



. By John de Graaf,