These are the European countries with the shortest and longest working week

Published connected 30/05/2025 - 15:44 GMT+2•Updated 15:44

The EU motto "United successful Diversity" couldn't beryllium truer for nan mean moving hours crossed nan bloc.

The latest Eurostat dataset illustrates a very ample spectrum of really overmuch clip labor walk grinding done a full-time moving week.

On paper, nan Greeks slog nan most. Workers location put successful an mean of astir 40 hours (39.8), nan highest successful nan EU.

Bulgaria, Poland and Romania travel adjacent pinch astir 39 hours a week.

But beyond nan EU, nan workweek stretches moreover further, 43 hours successful Turkey and 41 successful Serbia.

Agriculture and mining workers person longest weeks

The study besides shows EU citizens activity somewhat little compared to 10 years ago. The mean crossed nan bloc is now 36 hours, down from 37 successful 2014.

Data besides shows which sectors activity nan astir and nan least.

Agriculture workers thin to person nan longest weeks: 41 hours, followed by mining and building workers astatine astir 39. At nan different extremity of nan spectrum, acquisition workers person nan shortest week pinch almost 32 hours, followed by arts labor astatine 32.9 and societal workers astatine 33.4.

Four-day moving week: Which countries person tried it?

Four-day moving weeks person been trialled crossed Europe pinch mixed results and feedback.

Companies took portion successful pilots and tests successful countries for illustration nan UK, Germany, Portugal, Iceland, France and Spain.

In immoderate case, nary European state has officially mandated a four-day activity week pinch reduced hours crossed each moving sectors.

Belgium was nan first European state to enshrine nan shorter week into law, successful 2022. However, though labor tin take to activity 4 days alternatively of five, they still request to activity nan aforesaid number of hours.