Maryland considers a bill incentivizing the 4-day workweek. Here's how the 5-day workweek became so popular in the first place.

• Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill that would incentivize a 32-hour workweek.
• The proposal follows growing interest in cutting the workweek to 32 hours from 40 hours.

The push for a four-day workweek is gaining traction.

A bill introduced by Maryland lawmakers in January incentivizes employers to institute a 32-hour workweek without cutting worker pay and benefits.

Under the experiment, businesses with at least 30 employees who go from a 40-hour workweek to 32 hours could get a tax credit, per a local ABC station. The bill also encourages state and local government entities to implement a shorter workweek.

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Employers can get up to $750,000 in tax credit and the program will be phased out in 2028, according to reports.

The proposal is follows growing interest in making 32 hours the new full workweek. In November, 100 UK companies signed up for a permanent four-day workweek for all their staffers with no cut in pay.

While the companies employ only 2,600 people, a fraction of the UK's workforce, the move signals a shift in how some leaders view the traditional work schedule.

Indeed, the pandemic accelerated public discourse over whether the 40-hour workweek still makes sense for some employees. Companies including e-commerce startup Bolt, Panasonic, and social media company Buffer have adopted four-day workweek policies since 2020.

Here's a look back at the history of the 40-hour workweek and how we got to where we are today.

The history of the 40-hour workweek

August 20, 1866: A newly formed organization named the National Labor Union asked Congress to pass a law mandating the eight-hour workday. Though their efforts failed, they inspired Americans across the country to support labor reform over the next few decades.

May 1, 1867: The Illinois legislature passed a law mandating an eight-hour workday. Many employers refused to cooperate, and a massive strike erupted in Chicago. That day became known as "May Day."

May 19, 1869: President Ulysses S. Grant issued a proclamation that guaranteed a stable wage and an eight-hour workday — but only for government workers. Grant's decision encouraged private-sector workers to push for the same rights.

1870s and 1880s: While the National Labor Union had dissolved, other organizations including the Knights of Labor and the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions continued to demand an eight-hour workday. Every year on May Day, strikes and demonstrations were organized to bring awareness to the issue.

May 1, 1886: Labor organizations called for a national strike in support of a shorter workday. More than 300,000 workers turned out across the country. In Chicago, demonstrators fought with police over the next few days. Many on both sides were wounded or killed in an event that's now known as the "Haymarket Affair."

1890: The US government began tracking workers' hours. The average workweek for full-time manufacturing employees was a whopping 100 hours.

1906: The eight-hour workday was instituted at two major firms in the printing industry.

September 3, 1916: Congress passed the Adamson Act, a federal law that established an eight-hour workday for interstate railroad workers. The Supreme Court constitutionalized the act in 1917.

September 25, 1926: Ford Motor Companies adopted a five-day, 40-hour workweek.

June 25, 1938: Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which limited the workweek to 44 hours.

June 26, 1940: Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, limiting the workweek to 40 hours.

October 24, 1940: The Fair Labor Standards Act went into effect.

How the 40-hour workweek has evolved

Despite the long work it took to make the 40-hour workweek a reality, research shows people do continue to log longer work hours.According to the 2022 Gallup World Poll, the average full-time worker spends 41.36 hours per week on the job. And many workers have switched to remote work, which is associated with longer time spent on the job.

An earlier version of this story appeared on June 12, 2020.