Technology and automation has led to much greater efficiencies and output for every human in the workforce over the last 50 years. How come this hasn’t led globally to less working hours or a shorter work week for the average worker?

Question

EDIT: Replace ‘every human in the workforce’ with ‘most people’. I agree efficiency has not been gained equally across all professions.

In: Economics

Answer 1

What has led to a shorter work week was never efficiency gains, but union demands for their workers. Efficiency gains net beneficiaries were always the capital owners. Without union efforts for a 9-5, 40 hour work week we’d still have capital owners like Jack ma:

>Jack Ma told an internal meeting that Alibaba doesn’t need people who look forward to a typical 8-hour lifestyle, according to a post on Alibaba’s Weibo account. He lauded the industry’s notorious 996 work culture: 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week.

There will be a tipping point in the future when enough automation exists that has displaced enough wages(and therefore taxable income) that taxation could enable a UBI, but currently that level of automation tipping point isn’t here and a tax would act like a disincentive *to* automate(taxes are low level disincentives).