"Working men, unite!" was a popular slogan of the labour movement around 200 years ago. It indicated that the unrest considered only ‘men’ in the working place. Consequently, a question can be raised whether the underlying assumptions of having standard working hours considered women’s issues.
Currently, while many women are in the job market, a question can be further posed whether the eight hours of working, which was achieved through immense struggle, can serve women's necessities.
In short, it requires revisiting the labour movement with a critical gender perspective. In doing so, first, we need to have an overview of the movement.
In May 1886, a remarkable number of workers (400,000) walked off their jobs in different regions of the United States. On May 1, the agitated workers, with fiery speeches and groundbreaking ideology, started the movement that demanded direct actions for shortening working hours without a pay cut.
Although there was no violence for the first two days, police started shooting at unarmed workers in Chicago on the third day. Some civilians were killed and more than a hundred civilians were injured during the strike. Some other states of the US also witnessed violence and blood shredding.
It is important to highlight the Haymarket Affair, a significant event in labour history. There was a bombing instance during the labour demonstration at Haymarket Square in Chicago. Concerning this occurrence, seven workers were sentenced to death and one was sent to prison (for 15 years), whereas the person throwing the bomb was never identified. The trial received harsh criticisms, and the case became a symbol in recognizing the struggle of the workers for their rights.
In 1892, the law was passed for an eight-hour working day in the US. Gradually, workers in other parts of the world won their rights through movements. Finally, May 1 was considered as International Workers' Day.
A popular tune summarized the reason for and demand of the unrest: “We want to feel the sunshine; we want to smell the flowers. We’re sure that God has willed it and we mean to have eight hours. We’re summoning our forces from the shipyard, shop, and mill. Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what we will!”
It is clear from the lyrics that people were demanding to shorten working hours for their rest and leisure. Interestingly, there was no mention of household chores or responsibilities for child-rearing.
In the early 19th century, the concept of dividing the total hours of a day into three equal parts was evolved. Robert Owen coined the slogan through his socialist enterprise: "Eight hours' labour, Eight hours' recreation, Eight hours' rest." The underlying assumption was that when the workers would be back from their work, they would get the home ready for their rest and they would be free for recreation.
A clear gender division of labour was considered in this approach. As such, men are breadwinners who generally work outside, and women are homemakers who are responsible for all domestic and childcare tasks.
Hence, it was not considered that men had any homebound responsibilities to perform after their earning-generating activities. There can be a debate whether or not the demand for eight hours of work was appropriate based on the gender perspective.
We can concentrate on the contemporary issue rather than getting involved in that debate. There is no doubt that the gendered problem has been heightened in recent periods compared to the scenario during the movements.
Nowadays, many women are in the job market. Societal expectation to manage responsibilities at home by women remains -- so the eight hours rule does not make sense.
They cannot simply have rest and recreation after work due to the patriarchal society. The current standard of working hours is creating an inhumane level of stress on women for maintaining societal expectations regarding household chores.
At present, the eight-hour rule cannot be applied to many men as well. In the case of a dual-career, men may not get the home ready for relaxation and enjoy what they want to do as women are not there to get all things done at home.
In simple words, the standard of working hours clashes with the patriarchal expectations.
Now, let’s consider the issue from a comparatively gender-neutral perspective. Both men and women need time for home management. The case is critical for dual careers as both of them are engaged in work outside of the home.
Therefore, it cannot be readily acceptable how 24 hours of the day were divided, whilst there was no space for domestic activities.
More than 200 years ago, immense struggles were needed to shorten working hours to ensure a livable life. While celebrating Labour Day, we should not simply consider the number of hours; rather we need to acknowledge the need for a balanced life.
Hence, it is high time to reconsider the working hours considering gender issues to maintain a balanced life.
Dr Jasmine Jaim is a Professor at Institute of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, and the Associate Editor of the international journal -- Gender, Work and Organization. Email: jaim.jas@gmail.com.