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

One problem with your question is that not every occupation has been increasing in efficiency.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol%27s_cost_disease

So the rest of the workforce is gaining efficiency and the economy is reacting to people able to make more money in less time (example: high wage software engineers in California driving housing prices up because they have tons of cash to spend). While a teacher can technically teach thousands of more students thanks to video calls it’s not something you want so teachers still only teach something like 30-40 students an hour like they have for years and years.

So to keep up with this you have to pay them exponentially more for their labor so they can still have enough money to survive.

Meanwhile everyone with greater efficiency has to pay more and more for every service that hasn’t increased through efficiency. Doctors, construction, child care, (soon to be food preparation and transportation).