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 Su...