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The growing normalization of 70-hour workweeks in some industries has sparked a heated debate about whether labour rights are moving backwards. Once considered a relic of pre-union industrial times, extreme working hours are resurfacing in tech, finance, start-ups, and manufacturing, often framed as “hustle culture” or a necessary sacrifice for growth and competitiveness. Proponents assert that workweeks with excessive hours increase productivity, innovation and national development. Critics argue that 70-hour workweeks undermine hard-won labour protections, damage physical and mental health, and deepen inequality between those who can “opt out” and those who cannot. This conflict is central to the contemporary debates on the fair working conditions, dignity, and future of jobs. For more labour rights insights and workplace updates, visit our Labour Rights page.
Why 70-Hour Workweeks Are Making a Comeback
Several factors are driving the return of 70-hour workweeks. The world is increasingly competitive, economically unpredictable and technologically evolving at an alarming rate, forcing businesses to require more production at the bare minimal force. In the high pressure departments long working hours are at times taken as a pride of place as they are an indication of ambition and loyalty. By 2025, the concept of working fewer days for the same amount of money is no longer a radical idea a number of countries are at different stages of trials for a 4-day work week.
Working remotely and technology have erased the lines between the office and home so that it is now easier to continue working late into the night and over the weekend. In the mind of most workers, particularly juniors or migrants, it may be dangerous to decline long working hours at a time when employment is unstable.
Read more: Google Co-founder Sergey Brin Recommends 60-hour Work Week for Gemini Team
Impact on Health, Family Life, and Productivity
Studies have always indicated that work schedules that are extreme impose more stress, burnout, and sleep issues in addition to long-term risks of health like heart disease. When 70-hour workweeks become the norm, people have less time for family, caregiving, rest, and community life, weakening social bonds and overall well-being.
Ironically, the more the time spent, the greater the outcome is not necessarily the case. There comes a time when productivity per hour decreases, errors increase, and innovativeness becomes less significant. The desire to be accessible at all times may demoralize and attract the best talents causing organizations to lose in the long term.
Are Labour Rights Moving Backwards—and What Next?
The resurgence of 70-hour workweeks raises serious concerns about labour rights moving backwards. Most nations have a poor enforcement or weakening of regulations on the maximum hours, overtime payment, and rest time with the help of such loopholes as self-employed or managerial classification.
Unions, labour advocates, and some employers are calling for renewed focus on decent work: enforcing existing laws, protecting the right to disconnect, and promoting flexible but fair schedules. We do not simply need to work more hours, but is the work done respectful of human boundaries and can it promote a dignified life. How societies respond to the return of 70-hour workweeks will shape the future of labour rights for the next generation.
