The weekend is 100 years old – but has hybrid working ruined it?

This Guardian piece marks the centenary of the two-day weekend, tracing its origins to Henry Ford's 1926 decision to give workers Saturdays off. It explores how the concept evolved from a response to industrial exhaustion into a cornerstone of modern life, and examines contemporary threats: hybrid working blurring boundaries, the rise of 'skiveday Fridays', and a growing divide between 'time owners' and 'time slaves'. The article questions what the weekend means in 2026, when work and leisure increasingly overlap.