Staff in Europe have been progressively placing in fewer hours. Over the previous 10 years, the common time spent working per week has declined by one hour within the EU. In almost half of 34 European international locations, the drop was even better — a couple of hour between 2014 and 2024. Weekly working hours additionally differ considerably throughout the continent.
So, during which European international locations do folks spend essentially the most time on the grindstone? How has precise working time modified throughout the area? And what might be the potential causes behind this decline?
Based on Eurostat, in 2024, the precise weekly working hours for each full-time and part-time staff aged 20 to 64 of their foremost job ranged from 32.1 hours within the Netherlands to 39.8 hours in Greece. When together with EU candidate international locations, EFTA members, and the UK, the very best determine was recorded in Turkey (43.1), the place common weekly working time exceeded 43 hours.
Geographical developments: Southern and Japanese Europe high the record
Individuals in Southern and Japanese European international locations are inclined to work longer hours, with significantly excessive figures in EU candidate international locations. Following Turkey, which tops the record at 43.1 hours, are Serbia (41.3) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (41.1). Montenegro hasn’t reported knowledge for 2024, though its working hours got here to 42.8 in 2020.
The following international locations within the rating additionally belong to the identical area: Greece (39.8) and Bulgaria (39). North Macedonia, which solely has knowledge spanning as much as 2020, additionally recorded a weekly working whole of 39 hours.
These international locations usually have decrease wages, greater casual employment, and fewer part-time work.
Western and Northern European international locations usually have shorter work weeks. Nations just like the Netherlands (32.1), Norway (33.7), and Austria and Denmark (33.9) all report considerably fewer weekly working hours. These areas are characterised by sturdy labour protections, greater productiveness, and widespread use of part-time and versatile work preparations.
Amongst Europe’s largest economies, the UK and Spain (each at 36.4 hours) and Italy (36.1) report the very best common working instances, all above the EU common. Nonetheless, the UK knowledge dates again to 2019, so the precise determine could also be decrease immediately, given the general downward pattern in working hours.
How did working instances change within the final 10 years?
When evaluating weekly working hours in 2014 and 2024, solely 4 out of 34 international locations noticed a rise. In three of those international locations, the rise was minimal: Lithuania and Cyprus (each by 12 minutes), and Malta (6 minutes). Serbia was the exception, with a major enhance of 1.7 hours — 1 hour 42 minutes.
Weekly working time remained unchanged in France, whereas the lower was lower than half an hour in Italy, Sweden, and Latvia.
Over one-hour decline in almost half of the international locations
In 16 out of 34 international locations, weekly working time fell by a couple of hour — exceeding two hours in some circumstances.
Iceland (3.5 hours) carefully adopted Turkey (3.8 hours) on the high. Belgium and Luxembourg additionally recorded vital declines, with a discount of two.5 hours every in weekly working time.
In an additional seven international locations, weekly working hours declined by 1.5 hours or extra. These embody Denmark and Austria (each 1.9), Germany (1.8), Estonia (1.7), Czechia (1.6), and Portugal and Croatia (1.5).
Causes behind decline in working hours
Students and consultants have been analyzing the explanations behind the decline in weekly working hours, providing numerous explanations. A current working paper printed by the European Fee analysed work time developments in six EU international locations between 1992 and 2022. Sergio Torrejón Pérez and his colleagues discovered that:
Decline in working time is primarily linked to the rising prevalence of non-standard types of work, primarily part-time work.
Half-time jobs have grown principally as a result of extra ladies are working and since extra jobs are in service industries.
Full-time staff are working kind of the identical quantity of hours as within the Nineteen Eighties.
Self-employed individuals are working fewer hours over time as a result of extra of them are working part-time. Even so, they’re nonetheless working the longest hours on common.
Rise in part-time work and feminine labour drive participation
A paper printed by the European Central Financial institution analysed working time within the euro space from 1995 to 2020. Vasco Botelho and his colleagues emphasised that the decline in hours contributed per employee is a long-term pattern.
One purpose is that technological progress over the previous 150 years has remodeled the character of labor.
They discovered that different key elements embody the rising share of part-time employment, and the rise in feminine labour drive participation, which can also be carefully linked to the expansion of part-time work.
Half-time work largely voluntary
The decline in working time is pushed by each demand and supply-side elements, in accordance with the ECB report. Most part-time staff select this association voluntarily, opting to work fewer hours than full-time workers. Within the total pattern, about 10% of staff reported that they would like to work extra hours than they presently do.
One other working paper from the IMF by Diva Astinova and her colleagues additionally discovered that declines in precise working hours match declines in desired working hours in Europe.
“Elevated revenue and wealth is prone to be the primary drive behind the decline in desired and precise hours labored,” they prompt.
In different phrases, researchers proposed that folks really feel much less of a monetary pull to place in additional hours.