In Europe, work hours vary dramatically, with the Balkans clocking the longest hours on average. Türkiye leads with 44 hours a week, followed by Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. In contrast, Western European countries like the Netherlands work significantly fewer hours, averaging just 32 hours a week. The survey also reveals that those in agriculture and forestry work the longest, averaging 44 hours a week, while office and service jobs typically have shorter hours. This stark contrast between Eastern and Western Europe highlights not just differing work cultures but also the economic pressures driving these long hours.
An old joke goes, “Are you working hard, or hardly at all?”
Although it’s hard to quantify “hard work,” it is possible to determine who puts in the most hours at work.
Pallavi Rao of Visual Capitalist created this heatmap, which shows the average number of hours worked by Europeans per week per nation and is based on data from Eurostat’s Labor Force Survey (2023).
The dataset contains full- and part-time workers who are employed in a “main occupation” and are between the ages of 20 and 64.
The Balkans Have the Longest Work Hours in Europe
Europe’s less wealthy nations (measured by GDP per capita) typically have longer workweeks. People in the Balkans, for instance—such as those in Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia—all work more than forty hours a week at their primary employment.
| Rank | Country | Average Weekly Hours Worked (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 44 |
| 2 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 42 |
| 3 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | 41 |
| 4 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 40 |
| 5 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 40 |
| 6 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 39 |
| 7 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 39 |
| 8 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 39 |
| 9 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 38 |
| 10 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 38 |
| 11 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 38 |
| 12 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 38 |
| 13 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 38 |
| 14 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 38 |
| 15 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 38 |
| 16 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 38 |
| 17 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 37 |
| 18 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 36 |
| 19 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 36 |
| 20 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 36 |
| 21 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 36 |
| 22 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 36 |
| 23 | 🇫🇷 France | 36 |
| 24 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 36 |
| 25 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 36 |
| 26 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 35 |
| 27 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 35 |
| 28 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 35 |
| 29 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 34 |
| 30 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 34 |
| 31 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 34 |
| 32 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 34 |
| 33 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 32 |
| N/A | 🇪🇺 EU (2020) | 36 |
On average, workers in the Netherlands put in 32 hours a week. There has always been a divide between Eastern and Western Europe. The data from 2008 essentially shows the same patterns.
The variation in weekly working hours by occupation is another finding from the Labor Force Survey. The industries with the longest workweeks (44 hours) include forestry, fishing, and agriculture.
| Rank | Occupation | Average Weekly Hours Worked (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🌾 Agricultural, forestry & fishery | 44 |
| 2 | 💼 Managers | 42 |
| 3 | 🪖 Armed forces | 40 |
| 4 | 🔧 Trades | 38 |
| 5 | 🏭 Plant and machinery operators | 38 |
| 6 | 🔬 Technicians | 35 |
| 7 | 👩🏫 Professionals | 35 |
| 8 | 🛎️ Service and sales | 34 |
| 9 | 🖇️ Clerical support | 33 |
| 10 | 🔤 Elementary occupations | 31 |
Some relationships are found when the two datasets are cross-referenced. For instance, around 20% of the workforce works in agriculture in Serbia and Türkiye, the two countries in Europe with the longest labor durations.
Comparably, the workforce’s 20% share in agriculture is likewise fairly distributed across Bosnia (ranked third) and Romania (ranked fifth).
In the meantime, Greece’s average workweek is about to increase as a result of the government’s introduction of a six-day workweek for some industries to increase productivity.
Previously, GreatGameInternational reported that, according to data provided by the recruiting website Glassdoor, the best places to work in America in 2024 are Bain & Company and Nvidia.
One Response
The Western Europeans aka White Cowards
get paid in Butt Plugs instead of Euros by
their Foreign Nazi “gods” and they love it!
As long as they get to lick Kosher butt,
they’re happy!