Final answer:
The average working week by the 1980s was reduced to just over forty hours in some fields, although industrial workers often still worked forty-eight hours across six days. This was a result of a long-term goal of the labor movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
By the 1980s, the average working week in the United States had been reduced to just over forty hours in some fields, representing a significant decline from the longer hours worked in previous decades. However, it is important to note that the typical workweek for industrial workers often still amounted to six days of forty-eight hours of labor.
This reduction in work hours was a long-sought goal of the labor movement and reflected changes in labor laws, economic conditions, and societal values towards work-life balance.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2013, U.S. workers averaged 38.5 hours per week on the job when including part-time workers, and for full-time workers exclusively, the average was 42.5 hours per week. Thus, by the 1980s, there had been a general trend towards shorter work weeks, which continued into the following decades.