The 8-hour workday is in large part due to the efforts of the labor movement at the turn of the last century. Prior to that, 10- or 12-hour days weren't uncommo

The 8-hour workday is in large part due to the efforts of the labor movement at the turn of the last century. Prior to that, 10- or 12-hour days weren't uncommon or legally restricted. Subsequent to the initial reduction to 8 hours in workday hours, it was thought that the trend would continue. Robert Levine touches on the 8-hour workday in his book _A Geography of Time_, where he briefly describes W.K. Kellogg's initiative in the 1930's to reduce the workday to 6 hours at his Michigan factory. He felt that hard work would replace long hours. According to Levine, "For nearly two decades, by nearly every yardstick, Kellogg's brainchild worked brilliantly"[1]. It only met its doom after WWII, when, as a result of a policy linking higher productivity to increased wages, workers began demanding eight hours again to increase their overall income. 1. Robert Levine, _A Geography of Time_, p141.