According to statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexico and Colombia are the countries where the most hours are worked, while Germany is where the least hours are worked.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which compiles work statistics worldwide, shows that the most developed countries work the fewest hours.
“The annual average of hours worked is defined as the total number of hours effectively worked per year divided by the average number of persons employed per year,” states its report, which never ceases to surprise with its results.
According to the organisation, actual hours worked include regular working hours of full-time and part-time workers, paid and unpaid overtime, hours worked in additional jobs; time not worked due to public holidays, paid annual leave, personal illness, injury and temporary disability, maternity leave, parental leave, schooling or training, work for technical or economic reasons, strikes or labour conflicts, bad weather, compensation leave, and other reasons are excluded.
Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia are the countries where the most hours are worked per year. Mexico has around 2,128 annual hours, far from Germany, where people work an average of about 1,349 hours per year.
This shows that the countries with the most hours are not the most productive, as Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, which top the free hours ranking, are economic powerhouses.
This is because their hours are hugely productive. According to the PGI study, a German worker’s hourly productivity is the world’s highest-valued, followed by France and the United States. Mexico, on the other hand, is one of the countries with the most hours worked per year and least productivity.
Perhaps it’s a cultural shift: Mexicans and all Hispanics tend to talk, converse, and be much more sociable than the Nordics. However, these statistics debunk the belief that the most developed countries demand longer working hours from their employees.