Millions,
This question came up during a thread regarding daylight saving time and I’ve been marinating on it since. (Kudos to Chronos for the original query). In fact, here’s his (her?) tangent, verbatim:
“OK, now, after however many years of tradition, I can see that 9-5 has developed a certain amount of institutional inertia, and that we’re not likely to easily change it. But that wasn’t always the case. How did it come to be the standard in the first place?”
So, yeah. What gives?
It’s not standard in St. Louis.
I definitely don’t remember the last job I had that was 9-5. It’s 8-5 everywhere I’ve worked for years.
The work day evolved for most of the 20th century. In blue collar jobs, union action got 12-hour-days, and 6 or 5 1/2 day weeks, reduced. The eight-hour day was a rallying cry of workers ever since the 19th century, even though it took decades to be fulfilled.
White collar jobs never had quite as long days, but an eight-hour day gradually became the standard there as well. They weren’t very likely to have longer hours than blue collar types when a white collar job was a mark of prestige. Overtime pay became required for work weeks that went longer than 40 hours, so it became fixed.
The starting and closing time has always varied for various businesses in various places. Stockbrokers in California have had to conform to the 9:30 am New York start of the trading day, which is 6:30 am Pacific time, just as one example.
9 to 5 as the prototypical working day went into the general vocabulary probably after WWII. With the longer commute times needed from the suburbs, earlier starting times for white collar jobs became a burden. The Nine to Fiver is the name of a book of cartoons about white collar life from that era. But it’s more shorthand for a type of job than a realistic description of all jobs in all times, or even in a particular era.
I would love a 9-5 job. I have had 8-5, 8:30 to 5, 9-6 and 7-3:30. Nope no 8 hour days in my life. Not very fair. Jim unhappy. 
:mad:
My flex hours consist of coming in early if I like and leaving late. Yes a bad joke is really our policy.
Jim
In my 22 years since getting out of college and into the working world, I have never had a job that was 9-5; it’s been exclusively 8 to 5 for me and everyone I come into contact with.
Excapno Mapcase, thanks.
And jrfranchi, no, I think the days of the ol 9-5 are indeed gone. I’m still fairly young (24) but I’ve yet to land an honest to God 9-5. 8-5, sure, 9-6, yep. 9-5, nope. Nobody ever factors in lunch breaks now do they? Strange that we spent generations groping after an ideal but that most of us don’t really make that happen. At least as office workers. Cube-dwellers. Please, call it what you will. Point is, I’m asked to work the extra weekend day, the extra few hours, etc. almost every week and when I refuse (I’m exempt and lazyprincipled) I get that look that says “where’s your dedication?” Well, I think, it’s the 40 hours I dedicate every week. (Of course, I am straight doping right now, so “dedication” is all in how you define it). Point is, it’s dead. Adios to the 9-5.
Back to waiting tables for me, I guess.