Workers in Europe are gradually working fewer hours, according to Euronews. Over the past 10 years, the average time spent at work each week has decreased by one hour in the EU. In almost half of the 34 European countries, the decline is even greater—more than one hour between 2014 and 2024. Weekly working hours also vary significantly across the continent.

In which European countries do people spend the most time at work? How has actual working time changed in the region? And what are the possible reasons for this decline?

According to Eurostat, in 2024, the actual weekly working time for full-time and part-time workers aged 20 to 64 in their main job ranged from 32.1 hours in the Netherlands to 39.8 hours in Greece. When EU candidate countries, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom are included, the highest value is recorded in Turkey (43.1), where the average weekly working time exceeds 43 hours.

Geographical trends: Southern and Eastern Europe lead the ranking

People in Southern and Eastern European countries tend to work longer hours, with particularly high figures in EU candidate countries. After Turkey, which tops the ranking with 43.1 hours, come Serbia (41.3) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (41.1). Montenegro has not provided data for 2024, although in 2020 working hours were 42.8 hours.

The next countries in the ranking also belong to the same region: Greece (39.8) and Bulgaria (39). North Macedonia, which only has data up to 2020, also reports a total weekly working time of 39 hours.

These countries generally have lower wages, higher informal employment, and less part-time work.

Western and Northern European countries generally have a shorter working week. Countries such as the Netherlands (32.1), Norway (33.7), and Austria and Denmark (33.9) report significantly fewer weekly working hours. These regions are characterized by strong employment protection, higher productivity, and widespread use of part-time work and flexible forms of employment.

Among the largest economies in Europe, the United Kingdom and Spain (both with 36.4 hours) and Italy (36.1 hours) report the highest average weekly working hours, all of which are above the EU average. However, the data for the United Kingdom is from 2019, so the actual figure may be lower today, given the general trend towards shorter working hours.

How has the length of the working week changed over the last 10 years?

When comparing weekly working time in 2014 and 2024, only four out of 34 countries report an increase.

In three of these countries, the increase is minimal: Lithuania and Cyprus (both 12 minutes) and Malta (6 minutes). Serbia is the exception with a significant increase of 1.7 hours — 1 hour and 42 minutes.

Weekly working time remained unchanged in France, and the decrease was less than half an hour in Italy, Sweden, and Latvia.

Decrease of more than one hour in almost half of the countries

In 16 of the 34 countries, weekly working time decreased by more than one hour, in some cases exceeding two hours.

Iceland (3.5 hours) followed closely behind Turkey (3.8 hours) at the top of the list. Belgium and Luxembourg also saw significant declines, with weekly working hours falling by 2.5 hours.

In seven other countries, weekly working time fell by 1.5 hours or more. These include Denmark and Austria (both 1.9 hours), Germany (1.8 hours), Estonia (1.7 hours), the Czech Republic (1.6 hours), and Portugal and Croatia (1.5 hours).

Reasons for the decline in working hours

Scientists and experts are investigating the reasons for the decline in weekly working hours and offer various explanations. A recent working paper published by the European Commission analyzes working time trends in six EU countries between 1992 and 2022. Sergio Torrejón Pérez and his colleagues found that:

• The decline in working time is mainly linked to the growing prevalence of non-standard forms of employment, mainly part-time work.
• Part-time employment has increased mainly due to the rise in the number of women in the labor force and the greater share of jobs in the service sector.
• Full-time workers work approximately the same number of hours as in the 1980s.
• Self-employed people work fewer hours over time, as more of them work part-time. However, they still work the longest hours on average.

Increase in part-time employment and female participation in the labor force

A paper published by the European Central Bank analyzes working hours in the euro area from 1995 to 2020. Vasco Botelho and his colleagues emphasize that the decline in the number of hours worked per worker is a long-term trend.

One reason is that technological advances over the past 150 years have changed the nature of work.

They found that other key factors are the growing share of part-time employment and the increase in women's participation in the labor force, which is also closely linked to the growth of part-time work.

Part-time work is largely voluntary

According to the ECB report, the decline in working time is due to both demand-side and supply-side factors. Most part-time workers choose this form of employment voluntarily, preferring to work fewer hours than full-time workers. Across the sample, around 10% of workers indicated that they would prefer to work more hours than they currently do.

Another IMF working paper, prepared by Diva Astinova and her colleagues, also found that the decline in actual working time corresponds to a decline in desired working time in Europe.

“Higher incomes and wealth are likely the main force behind the decline in desired and actual working hours,” they suggest.

In other words, the researchers suggest that people do not feel such a strong financial need to work longer hours. |BGNES