An Asian nation's legislators overwhelmingly approved a bill that reduces the maximum weekly work hours. According to law, the standard working hours is the number of hours an employee is supposed to work, and it can be on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. South Korea is the country with the second most working hours. The rate in Tanzania, for instance, is 60%. This working rate has made Greece the only country with the longest working hours in Europe. Mexico, a country from North America is at top of the list with its citizen working annually for 2,257 hours. As of 2014, Mexico, Costa Rica and South Korea ranked first with the highest number of … Mexico city is it’s capital. But how does your workload fares when compared to folks in other countries? In countries such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, conflict and breakdown of the rule of law means workers have no guarantee of labour rights. The average US workweek is 38.6 hours long. Mexico is ranked as the number one country whose employees work the most hours. Even though South Korea has the fastest declining working time in the OECD, it still comes second for average annual working hours with 2,163. It could be worse, though. 10 countries where per week working hours are least 1. Top 10 Countries with Longest Working Hours 1. South Koreans bucked a global trend: studies carried out by the International Labor Organization (ILO) show that lower and middle-income countries tend to work longer hours than their richer counterparts, thanks to a series of factors that range from the proportion of self-employed workers in the labour force to lower wages, job insecurity and cultural issues. In 2016, Swiss Bank UBS released an analysis of 71 cities that showed Hong Kong with an average of 50.1 weekly working hours, ahead of Mumbai (43.7), Mexico City (43.5), New Delhi (42.6) and Bangkok (42.1). Greece has the highest working hours in Europe according to OECD. Moreover, it seems like they couldn’t be more … 3. The Chileans labor about 174 hours more per year than their American counterparts. To comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, please head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. We’re bidding farewell to 2018 with some of BBC Capital’s greatest hits from over the last year. Denmark is next with 32 hours, followed by the US, Germany, and Switzerland taking the number three spot with 34 … The Netherlands' average workweek for full-time employees is 37.3 hours, the second-lowest among the most affluent OECD countries. You can add or remove countries by clicking Add country on the chart.. We show annual totals, so the trends account for changes in both the length of working days as well as the number of days worked through the year. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week", a handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. The standard working hours around the world is around 40 – 44 hours weekly. General Knowledge Lists: The list of Top 10 Countries With Most Working Hours as per OECD (Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development). The rankings and statistics are also based on the 37 most affluent countries from around the world. In contrast, Mexicans work the most hours, averaging 41.5 hours per week, which is a whopping 2,200 hours annually. So, which countries are “burning the midnight oil”? In India, where there is no universal national limit for maximum working hours, workers do not have a guaranteed minimum amount of annual leave. Average annual hours worked per worker: 2226 Average hours worked per week: 43.4 Ratio of Productivity to country’s GDP per each hour: $19 2. In more specific terms, the word means employees dying either from stress-related ailments (heart attacks, strokes) or the ones who take their own lives because of the pressures of the job. In conflict-torn Yemen, 650,000 public sector workers have not been paid for more than 8 months, while some 4 million private … There are also reports of about 16% of Chilean employees working more than 50 hours per week. Surveys have also identified cities in terms of average hours. In Germany, the average employee works 1388 hours per year (or 26.6 hours per week) and in France the figure is only slightly higher with working hours totaling 1,489 per year (28.6 hours per week). The people of South Korea have different working hours depending on the job and productivity. Countries that work the most hours: Nepal (54 hours) Myanmar (51 hours) Qatar (50 hours) On average, the annual working hours for Mexicans was 2,246 hours in 2015. With these compelling stories, indispensable tips and expert insight, you’ll be ready to make 2019 the best it can be. South Korea has currently longer working hours than any other developed country: an average 2,069 hours per year, per worker, according to 2016 data compiled by the OECD. Residents reported that they spend about 15.9 hours per day eating, sleeping, and leisure. In Portugal and Spain, people also work longer than the EU average. Some countries have a work ethic that makes the US workweek look like a walk in the park. Expats in the Czech Republic work the longest hours out of the top 10 featured countries (44.9 h), which is even slightly above the global average (44.3 h). This new law will come into force in July 2018, although initially it will only apply to large companies before reaching smaller businesses. Contrary to what Jeremy Clarkson would have you believe, it's Mexico. South Korea isn’t far behind, with 2,100 hours worked annually per pers… The country has a population of 127.5 million (2016). My employer offers me a lot of benefits, including more vacation days and good healthcare”, says an expat from Australia. Greece is ranked third as the country with the most working hours in the world with 2,042 as the average annual working hours as of 2015. The most productive country, with around 1,566 annual working hours and $93.4 GDP per worked hour is Luxemburg, comparing to Mexico, for example, with only $20 GDP per worked hour. Netherlands. Greece has one of the highest annual working hours among the countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/15-countries-working-the-most-hours.html Despite that, they’re still generally satisfied with their working hours (76% vs. 61% globally) as well as their work-life balance (73% vs. 60% globally). This totals to an average of 2042 hours per year. Most employees in Mexico fear unemployment and employer threats would make the employees work longer than the mandated 48 hours per week. According to Eurostat, employees in Greece spent an average of 42 hours per week at work compared to the benchmarked 40.3 hours. The data was compiled from 2016's OECD table. How Many Serial Killers Are Active In The UK Now? This move is based on the need to eliminate longer commuting time that some workers experience. South Korea has currently longer working hours than any other developed country: an average 2,069 hours per year, per worker, according to 2016 … Types Of Crimes By Number Of Offenses In The US, The 10 Biggest Shopping Malls In The World. Workers’ rights groups claim that the actual figures could be many times higher due to underreporting. The average citizen of the Central American country works 2,255 hours a year, or a little over 43 hours a week. The top countries with the lowest mean working weeks are the Netherlands who work only 32 hours a week, Australia and New Zealand closely following with 33 hours a week, Denmark at 34 hours a week, Belarus, Canada, Ghana and Norway on 35 hours a week and finally, on an average of 36 hours a week; Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mozambique, Sweden and the United Kingdom. And only 4% of the countries abide by the ILO recommendations and set the international labour standards of a maximum of 48 hours or fewer for the working week. The analysis covered 38 countries and showed that only Mexicans (2,225 hours/year) and Costa Ricans (2,212 hours/year) worked longer hours. At the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg, the most productive country, has an average workweek of just 29 hours. Germany has the shortest working hours among the OECD countries at 1,356 hours per year. As we can see, the country that works the most hours per person is Greece with 39 hours. The average working hours per day in Greece is 8 hours on a five-day week. Nations that work the most hours on average: In terms of the nations with the highest working hours, Qatar takes the top spot. According to official statistics on working hours in Canada, employed Canadians worked an average of 36.6 hours per week in 2012, with significant variation depending on age, gender and location. South Korea is reducing its maximum working week from 68 hours to 52 hours in a bid to boost the country’s productivity and the number of children being born. But the average working week varies depending where you live in the world. But it is in the Middle East where the legal limits are more open for long hours: eight out of 10 countries permit weekly working hours in excess of 60 hours per week. Japan has a problem with "death by overwork", expressed not only by statistics but also the fact that the Japanese language has a word for this: karoshi. Mexico. “My working conditions are excellent here. One of the countries without a limit is the United States. But South Korea is not the only rich country to defy the odds. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexicans have the most average annual working hours. Germany and France are two of the most productive countries, but they are also two of the countries with the fewest working hours. South Korean laws mandate 40 working hours per week for all employees. In March, South Korea's National Assembly passed a law that will give a substantial amount of its workforce a well-deserved break. According to the laws in Chile, the maximum working hours a week is 45 hours plus two hours of overtime, however, employees working an average 42 hours. How many hours do you work each week on average? Mexico Ranking No. In the 2015-16 financial year, the government registered a record 1,456 karoshi cases. It is the developed nation with the longest working hours, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But it is Africa that shows the greatest number of countries in which more than one of third of the labour force works over 48 hours per week. Workers in such cases can arrive at work at 10.00 am and leave at around 6.00 pm. Not surprising the lowest average weekly hours comes from a European country. The current economic situation in Greece is also contributing to the increased demand for overtime working hours. Read about our approach to external linking. The average of 1,713 hours worked per year in Japan is not among the highest in the OECD list, but beyond the number, there is the grim reality that the country has no legislation at all stipulating a maximum weekly hours limit and neither overtime limit. 2. How Many Serial Killers Are On The Loose Today? Full-time workers now work 20 to 30 hours less every week than in the 19th century. It's not France but Greece that tops the list, though, with Greeks working a 42-hour week, according to 2013 OECD data. Death by overwork is so prevalent in Japan that they have a word for it: Karoshi (Credit: Getty Images). In the Americas and the Caribbean, 34% of the nations have no universal weekly hours limit, the highest rate amongst regions. Most of us feel like we work too much and the weekends aren't long enough. In most countries, employees should not exceed some working hours stipulated by law as maximum working hours. For example, in Quebec the average working hours were 35.4 hours, compared to 39 hours in Alberta – a clear reminder that even within the same country, working hours can vary a lot.Data released last year showed average working hours in th… From the data collected in 2017 Mexicans are the most hard working citizens in the world. A new working paper, spotted by Quartz, looks at the average annual work hours per person in … Although the data does provide an insightful view into the various cultural and working practices, it lacks statistics such as output per hour worked and various other productivity measures. This story is from BBC World Service and was written by Fernando Duarte. Interestingly, the work time in primitive hunter-gatherer societies is much lower than in modern agrarian societies. Click on the image to display at full size Embed Code … According to ILO's most recent figures, Asia is a continent where more people work the longest hours: most of the countries (32%) have no universal national limit for maximum weekly working hours and another 29% have high thresholds (60 weekly hours or more). With only 0.4% of employees working over 50 hours per week, the Dutch have some of the world's best work-life balance. The long working hours in South Korea is due to the industrial system in the country and night cultures. There are many laws that regulate working hours in different countries around the world. 3 among the most workaholic countries is Mexico, with 28.63% working very long hours. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2021 worldatlas.com, 10 Countries Where Women Far Outnumber Men, The Most Famous Serial Killers In America And Their Twisted Crimes. The absolute denial of basic workers’ rights remained in place in Saudi Arabia. Citizens of some countries, like France and Hungary, have been working fewer hours for a long time. The South Korean government also believes it could even increase the country's birth rate, which has decreased substantially in the last few decades. In the year 2015, Chilean workers spent an average of 1,988 hours working. Germany has an incredibly generous parental leave policy of up to three years per child. Employees in the private sector are reported to be working 5 hours more than their counterparts in the public sector when it comes to overtime. Most Mexicans work an average of 10 hours a day. There are organizations around the world that have established zero-hour contracts whereby, workers are only paid for the number of hours they work. Once again, the Middle East and North Africa was the worst region for treatment of workers, with the Kafala systemin the Gulf still enslaving millions of people: 1. According to Mexican laws, the maximum working hours per week is 48 hours. In Europe, on the other hand, all countries have maximum weekly hours, and only Belgium and Turkey have legal working hours of more than 48 hours. About 4% German employees work very long hours. About 16% of workers end up working more than 50 hours a week despite the legal limit of 45 hours per week. Employees in the Gulf State are expected to work an average of 49 hours per week, 17 hours more than the likes of the Netherlands, in other words, an extra 3.4 hours each day, based on a five-day working week. But this long-term decline in average annual work hours has slowed down in almost all OECD countries, and occasionally reversed itself. Most modern workplaces are experimenting with scheduled work, whereby the workers are allowed to shift their time of work away from traffic during rush hour. Despite a 48-hour weekly limit in the United Kingdom, Brits work less than 37 hours on average. These laws are rarely observed since there are some loopholes in the law and also due to the country’s underdevelopment in comparison to other member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The average working hours for workers in Greece is 42 hours per week. The … This is then … Full-time employees get 15.6 hours per day for personal care and leisure, well above the OECD average of 15 hours. People in South Korea spent an average of 2,113 hours working in the year 2015. With a total of 29 hours, the Netherlands has the shortest average work week. Despite opposition from the business community, the South Korean government believes the law is necessary to improve living standards, create more jobs and boost productivity. The OECD report has shown that the countries that are working the longest are not actually the most productive ones. This infographic ranks countries from around the world based on the comparison between their average number of hours worked each week per individual and the average annual compensation. BBC Capital’s greatest hits from over the last year. The chart here shows average working hours since 1870 for a selection of countries that industrialized early. Chile suffers from massive social inequality and a high poverty rate. The government, however, allows 12 hours, on weekdays, of paid overtime and 16 hours during the weekends. Its capital, Mexico City, is one of … According to the OECD, Chilean workers spend 1,954 hours working on average. Working time depends on location, occupation, lifestyle, and culture, and thus it varies from one person to the next. 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