Is the 8 hour work day considered a good thing?

[Christopher Burghardt]

im writing a essay for social studies and im not sure whether or not a 8 hour work day is a good thing, i am writing my essay on unions and that was a topic that was suggested by my teacher. I have no idea if that is too little or too long for time. please give opinions and reasons.

[Charles Veidt]

Well, if you go back to pre-union eras, the 8-hour work day didn't exist. You might have to work 12 hours or 16 hours or whatever your employer demanded. If it weren't for labor unions, we wouldn't have regulated work hours, overtime and holiday pay, weekends, etc.

[Mikhail]

I would agree. An 8 hour work day is reasonable, and if it weren't for unions resisting the draconian demands of greedy factory owners and managers, we wouldn't have the kinds labor laws we have today that are designed specifically to deter exploitation. By exploitation I mean 12-16 hour days, bad working conditions, etc. like the person above me has said.
I would suggest you go to the Department of Labor's web site, OSHA's (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) web site, and your state's department of labor's web site if you wanted to cite specific workplace safety regulations for your paper.

[poppyroro]

Yes, the eight hour work day is perfect. To begin with, If you were an employer who needed to continue the manufacture of a product for a twentyfour hour period. you could divide the shifts into three equal parts that would not discriminate against the employees.
The employees would not get over tired or stressed depending on their job. Some jobs are very stressfull. Such as, Police, Firemen, Air traffic controllers, etc.
I have worked twelve hour shifts, seven days a week for thirty days at a time and believe me, I needed a rest after that.
I like the old saying, work eight hours, sleep eight hours and have eight hours of fun.

[mtlmnr49]

Individuals should be free to work for however many hours per day that they want. If some don't want to work as many, they should lose out to those who do. That's not to say there are not benefits to reductions in work hours. I'm just commenting on the need to universally restrict it across all industries by act of legislation. Those who are capable of maintaining a high level of efficient productivity for more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week should never be priced out of the market to the benefit of those who are not as skilled and willing.

Unions did not gain the 8 hour work day, or 40 hour work week. Increased productivity of individuals did. The reductions wouldn't have even been on the table without the growing efficiencies in industrial labor. Efficiencies that unions fought every step of the way and continue to fight today. Today, unions only get in the way of individuals achieving their full potential, driving the least skilled workers into unemployment lines, and lowering productivity.