European residents aged between 20 and 64 are estimated to work an average of 37.5 hours per week, with countries like the Netherlands and Germany working some of the shortest hours.
According to a recent report by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat, the shortest working weeks are recorded in the Netherlands, with workers serving 33.2 hours per week, followed by Germany with 35.3 hours per week and Denmark, with only ten minutes more – totalling to 35.4 working hours per week.
While Norway is the fourth country with the shortest working hours (35.5), Greece has the highest working hours in Europe – 41 hours, while including countries outside the European Union, Serbia would have the highest average of working hours as workers there have a working week of 43.3 hours.
Other countries with longer working hours would be Poland (40.2), Romania and Bulgaria, both with 40.2 working hours per week.
Eurostat data show that Portugal borders a 40-working-hours week, with an average of 39.9 hours, while Czechia follows with 39.8 hours. The list of countries that have a working hour week somewhere between 39 and 38 is concluded with countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia, where working hours are 39.6 per week.
Lithuania has an average of 39.2 working hours per week – 20 minutes more than its neighbour country, Latvia. Iceland also has an average working hours week of 39.
However, among the Baltic countries, Estonia has the lowest working hours – 38 hours per week, which introduces the group of countries that have an average working hours between 36 and 39 hours.
In this group, countries like Austria and Switzerland, where workers serve a 36 hour-week on average, which is the lowest among other countries.
Countries that follow this list are Finland (36.2), Belgium (36.9), Ireland (36.9), France (37.4), Italy (37.4), Spain (37.8), and Luxembourg, with 38.1 working hours per week.
In general, European countries have labour shortages in some sectors, and working hours and other conditions can be convenient, especially for European nationals. In a bid to make it easier for this category to live, work and travel across the Member States, the Commission of the European Union has proposed some steps to digitalise the coordination of social security systems.
As part of its measures, the Commission has called on the Member States to speed up the national implementation of the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information so that it becomes fully operational in Europe by the end of next year.
