Text
Anna Savina
At the end of July, one of the richest people in the world, Carlos Slim, proposed reducing the working week to 3 days - however, he believes that the working day in this case should last 11 hours, and retirement should start at 70–75 years. Slim is not the first to want people to work less than the standard 40 hours a week. We figured out what versions of the ideal work week exist and why, according to their adherents, they will make people happy and the economy prosperous.
Why is the standard workweek 40 hours?
Immediately after the Industrial Revolution, there were no laws protecting workers' rights, and factory owners wanted to maximize profits: machines were very expensive, and to cover costs, they forced subordinates to work 12–16 hours a day, 6 days a week.
In 1922, Henry Ford decided to shorten the workweek to 40 hours to give workers free time and they spent more money. In other words, Ford made this decision not because he wanted to make life easier for workers, but because he wanted to increase demand. In an interview with World's Work magazine in 1926, Ford explained why he replaced the 48-hour work week with a 40-hour week while maintaining workers' wages: "Leisure is an integral part of the growing consumer market, because working people must have enough leisure time to use consumer goods, including cars."
True, now a 40-hour work week is more a myth than a reality. 85.8% of men and 66.5% of women in the United States work longer hours. This is largely due to the spread digital technologies(more and more more people work remotely, lead business correspondence in not work time etc.) and economic difficulties that do not allow employers to provide such benefits to employees.
How many hours per week do people work in different countries?
In some developed European countries the workweek is even shorter than 40 hours. In France, its duration is 35 hours, and in the Netherlands - 27 hours. In the mid-2000s, the Dutch government was the first in the world to introduce a working week of less than 30 hours. However, not all countries are reducing working hours: for example, in Greece they work on average 43.7 hours a week (but this does not contribute to economic growth), in Israel - 44 hours, in Mexico - 48, and in North Korean work camps - not at all. 112 hours per week.
What alternatives are there?
4 hours
Timothy Ferriss, author of the bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek, advocates for a 4-hour workweek. The famous American writer and activist himself once worked 14 hours a day, but realized that this made him unhappy, and decided to develop a system that would allow him to work significantly less. In the book, Ferriss describes many self-tested methods that allow him to work effectively and at the same time travel a lot and improve himself. One of the author’s key principles is based on the fact that it takes 20% of the planned time to complete 80% of the work. That is why main secret Ferrissa - correct prioritization and delegation of not very important and time-consuming tasks to assistants.
21 o'clock
Proponents of a 21-hour work week believe that this approach to work can solve several problems at once: unemployment, overconsumption, high level carbon emissions and inequality. This option is proposed by the British New Economics Foundation, which advocates restructuring the economy in such a way as to make people's lives happier and preserve nature. Foundation report says shorter working week will change habits and break vicious cycle modern life when everyone lives to work, and works to earn, to consume.
30 hours
In 1930, at the height of the Great Depression, corn magnate John Harvey Kellogg conducted an experiment: he replaced the 8-hour workday with a 6-hour day at his Michigan plant. As a result, the company had to hire hundreds of new employees, production costs fell, employees began to work more efficiently and had more free time. A similar experiment is currently being conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden. This year, government workers were divided into two groups: some work 6 hours a day, others 8 hours a day, and receive the same salary for this. The organizers of the experiment hope that people who work less will get sick less often and will feel better. The experiment is supported by the Left Party, and Swedish Prime Minister Jon Fredrik Reinfeldt of the Moderate Coalition Party believes the reform could cost a billion dollars and lead to a recession.
32 hours
(4 days)
There are also many supporters of a 4-day work week. Forbes columnist Richard Eisenberg believes such a schedule would be especially important for baby boomers (that is, people born between 1946 and 1964), because the extra free day would give them the opportunity to care more for elderly parents or grandchildren, learn new skills and prepare towards retirement. Currently, only 36% of US companies allow employees to work less than 40 hours a week.
33 hours
Speaking at a business conference in Paraguay at the end of July, one of the world's richest people, Carlos Slim, said that, in his opinion, most work was not organized correctly. He is confident that people should retire not at 50 or 60, but at 70–75 years old, but at the same time, people with extensive experience should work less than 5 days a week. True, the working week proposed by Slim is not much shorter than 40 hours - the billionaire believes that people should work 11 hours a day. Slim believes that such a schedule will allow us to rest more, improve our standard of living and keep us healthy. The tycoon is already bringing his idea to life: in his company Telmex, employees who work with young, can retire before age 50 or continue working 4 days a week and still maintain their salary.
6 days
2 days is too long of a weekend for many people. This is the opinion, for example, of Business Insider executive editor Joe Weisenthal, who noticed that on Sunday people are more active on Twitter and read more online media. In addition, Weisenthal, like many professionals, works on Sundays himself - this is a better way for him to start the week. However, numerous studies show that a 6-day work week can be bad for your health and general condition: Increase the risk of depression, heart attack and many diseases. In addition, by recycling, you risk throwing away good habits due to lack of time and energy. Scientists have also proven that overwork can have a negative impact on erudition: the study shows that those who work 55 hours a week instead of 40 have less lexicon and argue their point of view worse.
7 days
Although no country in the world has a 7-day workweek, some people work that long - usually those who creative work(for example, writes books), and those who start own business. True, not many of them work 8 hours every day. For example, Buffer co-founder and CEO Joel Gascoigne tried working fewer hours each day, taking a two-hour break in the middle of the day. Joel described his experiment in an article on Lifehacker.com: according to him, it was interesting experience, but he couldn’t get used to working on weekends and didn’t have time to recover after work. But this schedule helped Joel figure out that he only needed one day to recover, and now he works 6 days a week.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
You can count a work week and a work day. This is the total time a worker spends at work in a week or one day. These norms must be regulated by law on the basis production process and natural human needs for rest.
Different countries have their own labor standards and the legislative framework in this area. Let's look at the most “hardworking” countries and those in which minimum standards working week.
Working week in the Labor Code
Working time is the time that a worker spends performing his direct tasks. job responsibilities established by the employment contract. It is regulated by the regulations of a particular enterprise.
The working week in days calculates the time that a person should spend at his workplace. But there is another principle of calculation. The hourly workweek shows the total number of working hours in calendar week. These two concepts are most often used in everyday life.
- how many working days are there in a week;
- how many hours are there in each working day?
The product of these two indicators will give the desired figure, but if one of the days is shortened, for example, Saturday, then you need to subtract these shortened hours. For example, 5 days of 8 hours of work would constitute a standard 40-hour week.
Working week norms are prescribed by law ( Labor Code) and in employment contracts. So, in Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the working week should be no more than 40 hours. For those who are officially employed, according to the collective labor agreement, this is the maximum number of working hours per week, which are paid at the normal rate. Overtime, namely over 40 working hours per week, must be paid at different rates.
How many working days are there in a week?
There is a standard five-day work week. With this schedule, the weekends are Saturday and Sunday. There is also a six-day work week with only one day off – Sunday.
The six-day week is introduced where a five-day week is not suitable due to the specifics of the work or the maximum load standards. Many companies work six days a week, especially the service sector - Saturday is a fairly active day for providing services. Many factory workers and other workers who work a five-day week apply for certain services on their day off - Saturday. Not only commercial, but also some government agencies work on a six-day schedule.
Some countries practice a 4-day work week. Such a proposal was also made in the State Duma, but did not find support, but only thundered in the news. In this case, the length of working days would be about 10 hours, compensating for the additional day off.
Obviously, the duration of the shift is determined by the norms of the length of the working week and the number of working days in it. If we start from the standard figure of 40 working hours per week, then the duration of the working day will be:
- 5 days – 8 working hours per day;
- 6 days - 7 working hours a day, Saturday - 5 working hours.
This general norms For Russian Federation based on current provisions of the law.
Working days calendar for 2015
In 2015 there is one more working hour than in 2014. With a 5-day week of 40 hours, 2015 contains:
- working days – 247;
- shortened pre-holiday days (by 1 hour) – 5;
- weekends and non-working days – 118;
8 hours (working day with 5 days) * 247 - 5 (reduced hours) = 1971 hours
The number of working weeks in a year can be determined by dividing the resulting 1971 hours by the standard of 40 hours, we get 49 working weeks. There are special production calendars in which you can see which days of the week are working. 2015 as a whole is practically no different from the previous one.
Non-standard graphics
It is necessary to take into account enterprises where work takes place in 2, 3 and 4 shifts, the duration of which is different - 10, 12 and 24 hours. The schedule is set by the employer, who is guided by the opinion of the trade union, as well as the conditions and specifics of the production process.
For example, some heavy industrial plants often operate 3 shifts, each 12 hours long, seven days a week. Then, each employee is assigned his own schedule of shifts and days off, which do not coincide with regular public holidays. However, general standards for maximum working hours must be observed, and overtime hours must be paid at an enhanced rate.
For those who work part-time, the working day is limited to 4 hours and the working week is limited to 16 hours. True, the law provides exceptions for cultural workers, doctors and teachers.
Standards for working hours are established both at the level of the Russian Federation and at local levels as part of the preparation of contracts, both collectively and individually.
Weekends and religious traditions
Working week norms differ in different countries; in some of them, days off may not be the same days that are considered such in Russia. In European countries, the USA and most Asian countries, the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. But in Muslim countries - Friday and Saturday. The working week in this case begins on Sunday and lasts until Thursday - Egypt, Syria, Iraq, UAE. In Iran, for example, the work schedule starts on Saturday and ends on Thursday.
The main day off in Israel is Saturday, while Friday is a shortened day - you can only work until lunch.
This is due to religious traditions and the need to give people a day off to perform necessary religious rituals. The Christian Sunday tradition and the Jewish "Sabbath" underlie the official holidays. However, in most developed countries this is a tradition that has been formed over many years and enshrined in law - a clear and convenient working day schedule.
Working schedules of other countries
After the collapse of the USSR, a 40-hour working week was established in almost all CIS countries. What is the situation like in other countries around the world?
The European Parliament has set the maximum working time, including overtime, at 48 hours per week. In addition, some European countries have introduced their own regulatory restrictions. For example, Finland has established both a minimum of 32 working hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours.
But the standard working week for most European countries is set at 35 working hours: Switzerland, France, Germany and Belgium. Private enterprises usually work more, but in production this norm is strictly observed.
In the USA, since the 40s of the 20th century, a working week norm of 40 hours has been introduced. This is true for government workers, while in private firms this figure is 35 hours. This reduction in working hours is caused by the economic crisis.
Interestingly, in the Netherlands there is a trend towards shorter working weeks and longer working hours. With a standard of 40 working hours per week, Dutch enterprises are increasingly introducing a 4-day working week with a 10-hour working day.
Who works the hardest?
It's no secret that the most hardworking people are in China, where people work 10 hours a day. If you consider that China has a six-day work week, this works out to 60 working hours. A lunch break of only 20 minutes and a vacation of 10 days leaves no doubt about the country's leadership in hard work.
You need to understand that the official working week and actual data can differ greatly, in either direction. In the CIS countries, especially in private enterprises, people tend to work more than 40 hours, and overtime is not always paid.
In addition, with all the breaks and shortened days, workers in many countries are working below regulatory standards. The largest gap between official hours and actual hours worked is observed in the USA, Germany and France, where the working week actually totals no more than 33–35 hours.
In France, for example, Friday is an official working day, but many make it so short that after lunch there is no one at the workplace.
But the British, known for their hard work, usually stay late at work, so that their week stretches to 42.5 hours.
Statistics on the working week in different countries
Taking into account all of the above, we can only determine on average how many hours per week they work in the following countries:
- USA - 40;
- England - 42.5;
- France - 35-39;
- Germany, Italy – 40;
- Japan - 40-44 (according to some sources 50);
- Sweden - 40;
- Netherlands – 40;
- Belgium - 38;
- Russia, Ukraine, Belarus (and other CIS countries) - 40;
- China - 60.
Although in some sources you can find slightly different data. For example, Italy is named one of the countries where people work the least. It is probably impossible to completely generalize these statistics, but it is necessary to consider them from different angles: for private businesses, large enterprises, etc.
Most of these countries have a five-day work week, and the number of hours in a working day can vary.
4 days in Russia?
It turns out that not only in the Netherlands, but also in Russia a working week of 4 days could be adopted. In 2014, the State Duma discussed the possibility of introducing a 4-day working week at the request of International organization labor (ILO). The ILO recommendations regarding the 4-day week are based on the possibility of expanding the number of vacancies and jobs. Such a short week gives citizens the opportunity to relax more effectively and efficiently.
However, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation stated that such innovations are impossible for Russia, calling a 4-day working week a luxury. On the other hand, the plight of some citizens would force them to find a second job during these 3 days off, which would have a negative impact on their health and ability to work.
Illustration copyright Thinkstock
According to the established view, all of Europe is divided into two parts: the hardworking North, with its relatively low unemployment and growing economy, and the leisurely South, whose residents are always willing to relax over a cup of coffee, contemplating the bustle of the world. But is this idea outdated? – the correspondent wondered.
For some reason, many people associate France with a 35-hour work week, long lunch breaks and even longer vacations with the South. But anyone who has ever worked there as a qualified specialist knows that this is not so.
We tried to clarify this issue with Olivier, a senior legal adviser at a large French multinational construction corporation (he asked not to give his last name). We called Olivier in the evening, and at the time of the conversation he was in his office. Olivier replied: "I work 45-50 hours a week, from about 09:00 to 19:30."
What about the famous 35-hour work week, the envy of the rest of the business world? Is it really just a myth?
Contrary to many stereotypes, 35 hours is “simply the threshold from which overtime or days off begin,” says French economist Jean-Marie Perbaud.
Factory workers do have to stand at the machine for exactly 35 hours a week, but office employees are not limited in their work hours. Just like in the USA, for example, most employees do not go home until they complete their current tasks. But unlike their American colleagues, French specialists receive compensation for work lasting more than 35 hours in the form of additional days off, the number of which is negotiated with each company separately (in 2013, French companies provided their employees with an average of nine additional days off).
Where and how much
Average annual (2011) number of working hours of a full-time employee
Germany: 1,406 hours Norway: 1,421 hours France: 1,476 hours Great Britain: 1,650 hours Spain: 1,685 hours USA: 1,704 hours Japan: 1,706 hours Canada: 1,708 hours Brazil: 1,841 hours Korea: 2,193 hours Singapore: 2,287 hours Source: database of economic indicators of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (USA)
But even workers work more than 35 hours. According to the French government, in 2010, 50% of full-time workers applied for overtime pay, and in 2013, according to Perbot, there will be even more.
Of course, compared to representatives of some “office” professions, the average European worker is not doing so bad. Take lawyers: according to the French National Bar Association, in 2008, 44% of lawyers worked more than 55 hours a week. In the United States, surveys show that many lawyers work 55-60 hours a week to meet billing hours, a practice followed by most law firms.
This doesn't just apply to France.
France is not the only country where the working week turns out to be more stressful than is generally believed. In Spain, the working day of a qualified specialist also does not correspond to the stereotypical image of this country. Pablo Martinez, a senior sales and engineering manager at the Madrid office of a German multinational, says he arrives at the office by 08:00 and rarely leaves before 18:30.
Illustration copyright Thinkstock Image caption The working hours of office workers in European countries are gradually leveling out“In Spain, a lot has changed due to trends in the international market,” he says. “It’s not uncommon for people to have a quick snack while on the computer during their lunch break. Twenty years ago, when I started working, this almost never happened.”
Oddly enough, the length of the working week for those who work full-time is different countries Europe is almost the same. According to the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), in 2008 the average number of working hours per week in the eurozone countries was 41, and in France - just under 40. The range of values was very small: from 39 hours in Norway to 43 in Austria.
"Because we have an official working week of 35 hours, people have the misconception that the French don't work hard," says Olivier. "It can be very difficult to convince them, but the reality is quite different."
There is another factor that may have contributed to the myth of the short workweek: when calculating average working hours, only full-time employees are taken into account, whereas in many European countries the majority work part-time. This trend began at least 15 years ago and worsened due to the global financial crisis of 2008.
Illustration copyright Thinkstock Image caption The average worker is not doing so badly compared to office workers"In countries with low level unemployment, such as the Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden and Germany, decided to simply transfer one in four workers to part-time work,” says Perbo, author of the study commissioned by the European Green Fund, a Brussels-based policy organization funded by the European Parliament. The scientist added that Eurostat data for 2012 support this observation.
In the Nordic countries, where Perbo argues that part-time work is much more common, the working week, including full-time and part-time work, is the lowest: according to Eurostat data for 2012, in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and Germany averages 35 hours, while in Greece the average number of working hours per week was 38. Spain, Portugal and Italy are close behind Greece. The French collectively averaged about 35 hours per week.
And if you take a closer look at the number of working hours of part-time employees in various European countries, you will notice a paradoxical trend: French part-time workers work more than their counterparts from other countries.
The working week for part-time workers in France averages 23.3 hours, while in most other EU countries, this figure is 20.1 hours, according to a 2013 survey conducted by a research group at the French Ministry of Employment.
This answers some of the questions that engineering manager Martinez has on his mind: “When I call Germany around 4:30 p.m., I’m always amazed at how few people are in their office. Maybe Spain has now switched places with Germany? "
The other day several at once Russian officials raised the issue of the length of the working day and working week, or rather. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Labor Minister Maxim Topilin predicted that the working day in Russia would be reduced to 4-6 hours in the future. The deputy chairman of the Bank of Russia was also there, who suggested that in the next 15 years, Friday in our country will become a day off. Adding all this up, in the most favorable scenario we can get a 4-day work week, the duration of which will be 14-24 hours. All this will become real thanks to labor automation and the widespread use of robots...
And even though all this is more reminiscent of the scenario of another, futuristic Russia, there are still trends in the world to reduce work time. And what is noteworthy in this matter is that the length of time spent at work is not at all interconnected with the final economic results of the country - most successful countries have a much shorter working week. Although this, however, is not always reflected in the actual time worked. Taking this into account, Careerist.ru decided to find out where in the world the law establishes the shortest working day and working week. The Netherlands unexpectedly became the winner.
1. Netherlands
This European kingdom suddenly became a country with the shortest working week - there it is only 27 hours, despite the fact that the average working day lasts about 7.5 hours. In the mid-00s, the Dutch were the first in the world to introduce a working week of less than 30 hours, and this did not have any negative effect on the economy. Many citizens of the kingdom work 4 weeks a week, and almost always these are young parents, but there are also examples when entire enterprises implement such a schedule. With all this, the Dutch occupy second to last place in the world in terms of the amount of time worked - only the Germans work less than them. Thus, according to OECD data, in 2015 in the Land of Tulips, on average, only about 1.4 thousand hours were worked (in Russia - 1.98 thousand hours).
Agree, it's impressive. But even such records do not stop the Dutch - they want to work even less. Those who decide to do this switch to hourly wage rates. There, an hour of work on average costs employers about $30...
2. Finland
The Finns are also doing well – their working week may be only 32 hours, although they work an average of 38 hours– such a working week is usually established employment contracts. It is also interesting that in Finland there are also maximum limits working week – no more than 40 hours. It is noteworthy that the Finns themselves are confident that they work the least in Europe – such data is provided by the Finnish Center for Economic Research, citing Eurostat. Local analysts say short work hours have a negative impact on the state's economy and competitiveness, although the average hourly wage of $33 casts doubt on such claims.
3. France
The French are also far from the most important workaholics in the world; their working week officially lasts 35 hours. And strangely enough, trade unions continue to wage a long-term struggle to reduce it, and reduce the working day to 6 hours - this issue was even raised as part of the recent presidential election campaign there. And most importantly, this should not affect the 1.5 hour lunch break! The indicator of time worked per year is only 1.48 thousand hours. But at the same time, not all French people prefer to work 7 hours a day - at least 50% of workers work 1-2 hours more. More than a third of lawyers manage to work 55 hours a week! Why then are they fighting to shorten the working week? Overtime – here they are paid more generously than regular working hours.
4. Ireland
AND The Irish are not far behind the French - they work 35.3 hours a week. Although, unlike its neighbors in the rating, Ireland is frankly inferior to them in economic development, as, in fact, in the matter of implementation modern technologies. Interestingly, back in the 80s, the Irish worked much more than their territorial neighbors - local standards established a working week of 44 hours. Today they have been significantly reduced, but economic indicators have not increased as a result. Adding insult to injury is the low development of the local labor market, Brexit in 2016 and other problems that force the Irish to go to work in neighboring England. By the way, as in Finland, Irish legislation establishes a maximum working week, which since 1997 should not exceed 48 working hours. So the range is impressive.
5. Israel
Israel, despite all expectations, also occupies a good position in terms of the length of the working week - average is only 36.3 hours. The expert community says about Israelis that they work little, but do a lot. There is an opinion in the world that the citizens of Israel are hardworking people, although they themselves consider themselves a lazy nation. This is not to say that Israelis do not have economic problems, but allowances must be made for the frozen conflict in the country. By the way, the officially established average is 42 hours, and only after that do overtime begin to be counted.
6. Denmark
Denmark has not only the happiest pensioners, but also the happiest workers - their working week is 37.5 hours. But don't think that they work them out completely. Thus, many institutions also include a 30-minute lunch break during these hours, which reduces the amount of time worked to 35 hours. The average Dane spends about 7 hours and 20 minutes at work per day, but at the same time earns quite serious money even for Europe - a whopping 37.5 € per hour, which is a third more than the EU average. By the way, according to OECD data, the average hours worked are also quite low and incomparable with Russian ones - in 2015, the average Dane worked about 1.45 thousand hours.
7. Germany
The whole world is sure that the Germans are the most hardworking nation in the world, and the residents of Germany themselves are in no hurry to dispel this stereotype. Although statistical indicators indicate the opposite. Having statutory working week of 38 working hours, Germans work on average only 1.37 thousand hours per year, which allows them to occupy a leading position by working the least in the world (working the least number of hours in the world, to be more correct). In terms of a working week, that's just over 26 hours! But as everyone knows, due to high productivity, this does not at all affect economic indicators countries. At the same time, the minimum hourly rate is 8.5 €, and the average is about 25 €. Yes, one can only envy the productivity of the Germans.
8. Belgium
Recently they have been working 38 hours a week in Belgium too– the corresponding bill was adopted there in 2016. Upper limits were also set - a maximum of Belgians can work 45 hours a week. Although 38 hours is enough for them, the average hourly wage in the country exceeds 39 €, which allows them to be leaders in this indicator among the EU countries. The average working day is impressive - which for the average Belgian lasts only 7 hours and 7 minutes. By the way, the Belgians themselves admit that from this time directly for implementation functional responsibilities they spend only 3 hours 47 minutes. There are no problems with work either - Belgium has a developed labor market and broad legislative protection for workers. At the same time, many employers take care of their employees by introducing, for example, a 4-day work week. Like, a rested and happy employee is a productive employee.
9. Norway
Norwegian law defines a fixed working week, which is 39 working hours. Local statistics show that the average Norwegian spends 7 hours 31 minutes at work every day, and still manages to achieve one of the highest productivity levels in the world. Norwegian GDP per man-hour increases by $88 internal product– this is the second indicator in the world after Luxembourg. According to the OECD, Norwegians did not work that much in 2015 - the average is 1.42 thousand hours per year.
It should be noted that countries with a working week that is shorter than 40 hours are rather an exception to the rule - most countries adopt just such a standard. But there are also many striking exceptions, where citizens work much more. For example, Japan, where locals work 50 hours a week. But even this is not as much as the hardworking Chinese, whose working week lasts 60 hours, working day - 10 hours, and average duration lunch break - 20 minutes... There is something to think about!
Many people complain that they spend their whole lives at work. But we don’t even work 10 hours a day, like the people of China
Which countries have the shortest working week? Photo: Pinterest
On this day in 1919, an 8-hour working day was introduced in Holland. And despite the fact that residents of the post-Soviet space (for example, Ukraine) continue to work 8 hours a day, in some countries a reduced schedule is the norm.
Hardworking Europe?
The European Parliament has set a maximum working time of 48 hours per week. All overtime hours are taken into account here. Some countries have also introduced their own restrictions. For example, Finland believes that its residents need to work at least 32 hours, but not more than 40 hours. Most often, Europeans work about 40 hours a week.
Average working hours in Europe (per week)
IN the Netherlands The standard working week is 38 hours. However, depending on the employer, employees may spend between 36 and 40 hours at the workplace.
The work week lasts 35 hours Ireland And France. However, in reality, employees spend more time at work. In the 90s of the last century, the introduction of a 35-hour week in France caused a storm of indignation. Recently the government returned to the issue of increasing the number of working hours, after which a number of strikes and demonstrations followed.
Residents Denmark work 7 hours 21 minutes a day. Average duration a working week of 37.5 hours is one of the lowest in Europe. But at the same time, a Dane earns about 37.6 euros per hour, which is 30% more than the EU average.
Many people support the idea of a 21-hour work week. Photo: Business Insider
Germans are considered workaholics all over the world. But the work week Germany lasts no more than 38 hours. At the same time, it is common among German companies to reduce the working hours in the event of financial problems instead of dismissing employees. Residents also work no more than 39 hours a week Norway.
The most hardworking people in Europe, as it turns out, are workers in Great Britain, Greece And Portugal. The British, working 43.7 hours a week, very often stay late at work. The Portuguese work 8 hours 48 minutes a day, an average of 48 hours a week. But at the same time, experts note that not all this time people are engaged in their work responsibilities. The European “hard workers” also include residents of Greece - their working week lasts 43.7 hours. However, this cannot be said based on the state of the economy in the country...
Hardworking Asia!
In Asia, people work much more. Average working day in China lasts 10 hours, while working days are six days. This results in 60 working hours per week. The Chinese have 20 minutes for lunch and 10 days a year for vacation.
Workers in China. Photo taken from Twitter
IN Japan a standard work contract provides for up to 40 working hours per week. However, we have all heard about the importance of promotion career ladder for the Japanese. And this often depends on the amount of time a person spends at his workplace. Purposeful residents of Japan often stay late at the office in the evenings and come there on Saturday. Therefore, in some cases the working week reaches 50 hours.
IN Thailand And India also six days, most workers work up to 48 hours a week. IN government institutions, and also in the offices of Western companies there is a 40-hour working week.
How is it optimal?
Several years ago, in an interview, one of richest people planet, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim said that people should work no more than 3 days a week. However, the working day should last 11 hours, and people should retire at age 70 or even later.
Carlos Slim believes that it would be optimal to work 3 days a week, but at the same time 11 hours a day. Photo: siapress.ru
There are also many supporters of a 4-day work week. This schedule will be most convenient for the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964), experts say. This way they can take more care of their parents or grandchildren.
There are also those who support the idea of a 21-hour work week. According to them, such an approach will solve a number of problems: unemployment, excessive consumption, high levels of carbon emissions and even inequality. A report from the UK's New Economics Foundation says a shorter working week will help break the vicious circle of modern life, where everyone lives to work, works to earn, and earns to consume more.
How long do you think the working week should last? Share in the comments!
