--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How come you don't work fourteen hours a…" description: "\"How come you don't work fourteen hours a day? Your great-great-grandparents did. How come you only work the eight-hour day? Four guys got hanged fighti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/studs-terkel-3020_eight_how-come-you-don-t-work-fourteen-hours-a_2339125.jpg" --- # How come you don't work fourteen hours a day? Your… ![“How come you don't work fourteen hours a day? Your great-great-grandparents did. How come you only work the eight-hour day? Four guys got hanged fighting for the eight-hour day for you.” quote by Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/studs-terkel-3020_eight_how-come-you-don-t-work-fourteen-hours-a_2339125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/studs-terkel-3020_eight_how-come-you-don-t-work-fourteen-hours-a_2339125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/studs-terkel-3020_eight_how-come-you-don-t-work-fourteen-hours-a_2339125.jpg) > “How come you don't work fourteen hours a day? Your great-great-grandparents did. How come you only work the eight-hour day? Four guys got hanged fighting for the eight-hour day for you.” [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the historical struggle for reasonable work hours and criticizes modern overwork despite past sacrifices. **In simple terms:** People fought for 8‑hour days; we still overwork. Key Takeaway Respect workers’ rights and limit hours. Themes labor rights history work-life balance social justice Mood determined reflective Type motivational historical When to use this quote - union organizing - policy advocacy - personal time management - company culture Key Concepts industrial revolution workers’ movements exploitation Questions to Reflect On - What would a fair workday look like today? - How can we honor past sacrifices in current policies? A Different Perspective Modern gig economy undermines collective bargaining power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grandparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandparent/) [Great grandparents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-grandparents/) ## Related quotes > [When I work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, I get lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armand-hammer/when-i-work-fourteen-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week-i-get-lucky/) [Armand Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armand-hammer/) > [Hey, I work one full hour a day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-caliendo/hey-i-work-one-full-hour-a-day/) [Frank Caliendo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-caliendo/) > [“But he couldn't work every hour of the day. Maybe he could find a way to run into her again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jagears/but-he-couldn-t-work-every-hour-of-the-day-maybe-he-could-find-a-way/) [Melissa Jagears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jagears/) > [It's really important to find an hour or two to a day to make sure that you keep healthy, keep fit. It's very easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/it-s-really-important-to-find-an-hour-or-two-to-a-day-to-make-sure/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I'm busy 23 hours a day. I sleep terribly. So, that one hour a day at the gym is my hour of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rife/i-m-busy-23-hours-a-day-i-sleep-terribly-so-that-one-hour-a-day-at/) [Matt Rife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rife/) > [“Many people over forty have at least one health condition that affects their ability to work a forty hour work week effectively. Human Resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/many-people-over-forty-have-at-least-one-health-condition-that/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If you do things by the job, you are perpetually driven: the hours are scourges. If you work by the hour, you gently sail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/if-you-do-things-by-the-job-you-are-perpetually-driven-the-hours-are/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [When I do work out its an hour to hour and a half. But its not always at the gym. I play a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dino-morea/when-i-do-work-out-its-an-hour-to-hour-and-a-half-but-its-not-always/) [Dino Morea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dino-morea/) > [I get up at 4:30 A.M. pretty much every morning during the week. I work out for an hour and a half. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheri-bustos/i-get-up-at-4-30-a-m-pretty-much-every-morning-during-the-week-i-work/) [Cheri Bustos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheri-bustos/) > [When we live without listening to the timing of things, when we live and work in twenty-four-hour shifts without rest – we are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-muller/when-we-live-without-listening-to-the-timing-of-things-when-we-live/) [Wayne Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-muller/) > [“When our life crackles and sparks like a torch, we curse the necessity of spending eight hours uselessly in sleep. When we have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/when-our-life-crackles-and-sparks-like-a-torch-we-curse-the-necessity/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [L.A. is a vortex. The weather there tricks you into thinking you're on vacation, even when you're working fourteen hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-casablancas/l-a-is-a-vortex-the-weather-there-tricks-you-into-thinking-you-re-on/) [Julian Casablancas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-casablancas/) > [The soldiers' last meal is generally served out about five o'clock in the afternoon, sometimes earlier; and a stretch of fourteen hours intervenes between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/the-soldiers-last-meal-is-generally-served-out-about-five-o-clock-in/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Children woke up at six-thirty in the morning and shifted directly into fourth gear. Fourteen hours later they rushed straight into sleep at more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/children-woke-up-at-six-thirty-in-the-morning-and-shifted-directly/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“We'd been drinking for something like fourteen hours straight when the moment had come, the bell, so to speak, was tolling, and it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-niva/we-d-been-drinking-for-something-like-fourteen-hours-straight-when/) [Loren Niva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-niva/) ## More by Studs Terkel > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“It was in ’35—we had this campaign to raise a million tax dollars. In the town of Phillips, one evening, during a blizzard, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/it-was-in-35-we-had-this-campaign-to-raise-a-million-tax-dollars-in/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I read somewhere that when a person takes part in community action, his health improves. Something happens to him or to her biologically. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-read-somewhere-that-when-a-person-takes-part-in-community-action/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Don't be an examiner, be the interested inquirer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/don-t-be-an-examiner-be-the-interested-inquirer/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Hope never trickles down. It always springs up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/hope-never-trickles-down-it-always-springs-up/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-never-drove-a-car-i-m-hopeless-that-way-i-press-the-wrong-buttons/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/to-survive-the-day-is-triumph-enough-for-the-walking-wounded-among/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“I’ll never forget that Depression Easter Sunday. Our son was four years old. I bought ten or fifteen cents’ worth of eggs. You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-ll-never-forget-that-depression-easter-sunday-our-son-was-four/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [All you need in life is truth and beauty and you can find both at the Public Library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/all-you-need-in-life-is-truth-and-beauty-and-you-can-find-both-at-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/reading-a-book-should-not-be-a-passive-exercise-but-rather-a-raucous/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I hope for peace and sanity - it's the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-hope-for-peace-and-sanity-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“The total cost of the Federal Arts Project was only $23 million. Many of these paintings, sculptures and prints were given to museums, courthouses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-total-cost-of-the-federal-arts-project-was-only-23-million-many/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-find-labels-liberal-and-conservative-of-little-meaning-our-language/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“Who knows Bob’s name in this outfit—let alone his lame child’s? (“The last place I worked for, I was let go,” recalls the bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/who-knows-bob-s-name-in-this-outfit-let-alone-his-lame-child-s-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [The trouble with censorship is that once it starts it is hard to stop. Just about every book contains something that someone objects to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-trouble-with-censorship-is-that-once-it-starts-it-is-hard-to-stop/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) [Explore all 142 Studs Terkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## More Eight quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [The minute you step onstage, you get eight feet taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/the-minute-you-step-onstage-you-get-eight-feet-taller/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. 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They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [I realised I owned eight pink suits, which I did not need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-odudu/i-realised-i-owned-eight-pink-suits-which-i-did-not-need/) [A. J. 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