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 $4.
• 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 $4 in January incentivizes employers to institute a 32-hour workweek $4

Under the experiment, businesses with at least 30 employees who go from a 40-hour workweek to 32 hours could get a tax credit, $4. The bill also encourages state and local government entities to implement a shorter workweek.

Employers can get up to $750,000 in tax credit and the program will be phased out in 2028, $4.

The proposal is follows growing interest in making 32 hours the new full workweek. $4, 100 UK companies signed up for a $4 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$4 over whether the 40-hour workweek still makes sense for some employees. Companies including e-commerce startup $4, $4 and social media company $4 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 $4 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 $4 erupted in Chicago. That day became known as "May Day."

May 19, 1869: President Ulysses S. Grant $4 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. $4, 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 $4. The average workweek for full-time manufacturing employees was a whopping 100 hours.

1906: The eight-hour workday was $4 in the printing industry.

September 3, 1916: $4, 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 $4.

June 25, 1938: Congress passed the $4, which limited the workweek to 44 hours.

June 26, 1940: Congress $4, limiting the workweek to 40 hours.

October 24, 1940: The Fair Labor Standards Act $4.

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 $4.

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