I chatted with my American friend today and he told me that the reason most people work the average 9-5/40 hour week today is because of the US. I googled it and apparently Henry Ford introduced that schelude.
I noticed that everywhere in Europe follows that exact same work pattern and I wonder why. Most jobs I've worked offer the standard 40 hour a week contract and most people start work at around 8-9 AM and get home at 4-5 PM.