In a viral TikTok, a recent college graduate bemoaned the demands of a 9-to-5 work schedule. Historically, there is precedence for this change, says Ben Hunnicutt, a historian who focuses on why companies abandoned shorter workdays. "The 40-hour workweek, from 9-to-5, is not a universal mandate from God, it's a historical accident," he says. Gen Z workers, like Brielle, might be the ones to facilitate a shift in company expectations. "There is a tendency now in younger folks to value their time more than advancement at work," Hunnicutt says.

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Persons: Brielle, doesn't, I'm, they'd, Ben Hunnicutt, Gen, Hunnicutt Organizations: UAW