&gt; Historically, working hours are decreased with increase of productivity. 10-16 hours working days 6 days a week was common just few centuries ago.<p>Those long days arose in consequence of the industrial revolution (both because the things which <i>enabled</i> them were products of the industrial revolution, and because they were adopted to maximize the return of the capital investments in factories in industrialization), working hours were <i>shorter</i> previously.<p>Its true that they later came down as a result of social movements spurred by the conditions those long hours produced, but its not clear that those were net shorter hours from productivity or just a reversion of the increase.<p>(In some areas of the developed world, there&#x27;ve been further reductions since, which may be a continuation of the same social movement adapting to changes in the production capacity, which would perhaps illustrate a socially-mediated course for the trend you suggest, but that hasn&#x27;t been universal.)