I have always been under the impression that Europeans worked fewer hours than Americans. However, a new survey shows that more than one country’s population averages over 40 hours per week on the job.
Romania and Bulgaria are home to the hardest workers on the continent. According to research conducted by The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the citizens of these new EU members average 41.7 hours per week at the office. The UK ranks next, at 41.4 hours.
Overall, the 12 newest EU states worked more than the original members (40.6 hours compared to 39.5). At the other end of the spectrum sit the French. They work a leisurely 37.7 hours each week. That might sound like a healthy workload, but France’s Minister of Finance recently criticized her country-people for not working hard enough. Italians also boast an under 40 hour work week (38.4 hours). Eurofound put the mean number of days off per year at 25. In the US, the average number of paid vacation days is 14.