A century after the weekend was invented, it has disappeared. Let’s reclaim leisure | Richard Morgan

Henry Ford’s 1926 policy held for decades before eroding into a 24/7 mindset. Here’s what we can do about it It was a Saturday. In fact, the Saturday. Almost exactly a century ago, on 25 September 1926, Henry Ford instituted a policy of weekends for his workforce. Although various labor campaigns had existed for decades to try to carve out what we now call the weekend, this was the first widespread adoption. Continue reading...

Richard Morgan · Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

A century after the weekend was invented, it has disappeared. Let’s reclaim leisure | Richard Morgan

Henry Ford’s 1926 policy held for decades before eroding into a 24/7 mindset. Here’s what we can do about it

It was a Saturday. In fact, the Saturday.

Almost exactly a century ago, on 25 September 1926, Henry Ford instituted a policy of weekends for his workforce. Although various labor campaigns had existed for decades to try to carve out what we now call the weekend, this was the first widespread adoption.

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