alt Hacker NewsThis isn't entirely true, or we'd all still be working 80hrs like factory workers at the start of the industrial revolution.
I think it also remains to be proven that the company that works their employees the hardest will necessarily outcompete the others.
The 40 hour work week was the result of strikes and legal maneuvering by unions that led to labor protection laws in the early 1900s. Otherwise we would likely still be working those 80 hour weeks (alongside our kids).
It’s not necessary that the longer hours actually translate into productivity, just that the boss feels like it should.