When you think of a full-time job, you probably picture working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for a total of 40 hours a week. Obviously, that doesn’t take into consideration a lunch break, commute time and possible overtime. Working a 40-hour job can feel like it takes up most of your life, and some people end up feeling burnt out.

Emily Ballesteros has worked in a variety of jobs with different schedules. Sometimes she had a typical 40-hour work week, but that wasn’t why she first experienced burnout.

“I had crippling burnout while working full-time, being in graduate school full-time, coaching part-time, commuting two to three hours per day, and spending all of my spare time completing graduate work. I finally reached a breaking point and decided I would come up with a comprehensive solution myself since I couldn’t find one anywhere else.”

Ballesteros decided to become a burnout coach and help herself and others find a work life balance that actually works for them. Back when she was working 40-week jobs, she noticed that sometimes 40 hours was more than enough time to complete the work, and other times it wasn’t enough. She felt that the 40-hour week was outdated and needed to be rethought.

In a viral TikTok video, Ballesteros shared the history behind the 40-hour work week and why she feels that it doesn’t work anymore. It all started with Henry Ford. Watch her video below.

@emilybruthReply to @iamjoegioia I’m glad you brung it up cuz I’ve been dying to talk about it for a f*ckin hot minute😅 ##burnout ##cc ##40hourweek ##fyp ##workload♬ original sound – Emily Ballesteros

After posting her video, many people asked her “What solution do you recommend?” There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the 40-hour work week, but Ballesteros does have a couple solutions that would work for many industries. She created a follow-up TikTok to explain these two options and why they are worth considering. Watch her follow-up video below.

@emilybruthReply to @jacquelinelinnea This just skims the surface but I hope it provides some more info! ##burnout ##40hourworkweek ##workload ##timemanagement♬ original sound – Emily Ballesteros

Many TikTok users took to the comments to share their work schedules and what works for them personally. One hospital employee shared that she loves her schedule of 3 12-hour shifts per week. “I have 4 days off a week to do whatever I want and leaves time for travel.” Another TikTok viewer shared that her schedule recently changed to 6 hours a day 4 days a week and “it’s wonderful.”

Do you work 40-hours a week? Do you think you would be more productive and/or have a better work life balance with a different schedule?