Many hands make light work.

“Many hands make light work” is an English proverb commonly traced to the Tudor-era writer John Heywood, a court musician and playwright associated with Henry VIII’s court. Heywood helped popularize many proverbial sayings by collecting them in print during the mid-16th century, when proverbs were widely used as practical moral instruction and rhetorical ornament. The line is typically linked to Heywood’s proverb collection, where it appears among other maxims about cooperation, labor, and household or communal tasks—reflecting a society in which work was often organized collectively (family, guild, parish) and shared effort was a familiar ideal.

The proverb argues that cooperation reduces individual burden: when a task is divided among several people, it becomes easier, faster, and less daunting for each participant. Beyond simple efficiency, it also implies a social ethic—shared responsibility and mutual aid are virtues, especially for work that might overwhelm one person alone. The saying is frequently invoked to encourage teamwork, volunteerism, and community problem-solving, and it can carry a gentle persuasive force: reluctance or isolation is countered by the promise that collective action will “lighten” the load for everyone.