Ever imagined what your boss thinks of you because you are sticking to your guns and not working more than the required 40-hour working week? Ever sat and thought what they think of you at the very top while you are refusing to reply to your emails because it’s Sunday morning, even if the request can wait till you roll into the office Monday morning? You know they think you’re a slacker; that you are getting paid too much because they need more money to announce to the board. But, are they right? There’s a big difference between being at work for hours and hours and then actually being productive, isn’t there? Productivity has nothing to do with how many hours you put in being present in the work space. The people at the top want enslaved presence and productivity. Somebody who gets the job done and then gets the hell out of there must be slacking because they could be doing so much more they think. They could be upping the ante for the dividend-seeking shareholders and the money-grabbing banks, but they decide to go put their feet up instead of putting in the extra time. If only they knew the truth. Otherwise the Greeks, who are the ones who spend the most time at work in Europe, wouldn’t be in the trouble that they are right now with all the noses to the grindstones, would they? Time at work doesn’t mean greater productivity at all.
But, who are the ones in the world that put in the most time at work and perhaps more’s to the point does it have an effect on their economic activity? Take a look at theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the world rankings for the 34 member countries according to the number of hours worked per year.
Longest Working Hours
1. Mexico [23] 2,237 hours per year
2. Korea 2,163
3. Greece 2,037
4. Chile 2,015
5. Russia 1,980
6. Poland 1,916
7. Hungary 1,883
8. Estonia 1,868
9. Israel 1,867
10. Turkey 1,832
So the Greeks [24] work the most in Europe, or at least they spend the most time at work, notching up 2,037hours per year. The Dutch work the least in Europe, with just 1,380. The Germans work the second least in Europe and yet have the best economy there (1,388 hours per year). Norway only works 1,408 hours per year and the Danes come in at the lower end of the ranking with 1,411 hours a year. Workers in the USA put in an average of 1,788 hours per year meaning that the country is the 12th position in the world. The Britishcome in at 22nd place with 1,669 hours per year. The Mexicans spend more time than any other nation in the work place, but are they the most productive country in the world?
USA Working Week
If you wanted more leisure time then you would have to go back to the hunter-gathers you had as ancestors. Anthropological studies have shown that we have far less time than they had. Studies in the 1970s showed that for example the Machiguenga tribe in the Upper Amazon only worked some 4.86 hours per day. Popular perception still shows however that we in the modern capitalist society work far less than they did. But, it simply isn’t true. We work double what they used to do and yet we believe that we are privileged and benefit from the modern society in which we evolve.
In the 19th century the average American worker was doing 60 hours per week. The average man works some 8.4 hours per day and the average American woman works 7.7 per day. The Netherlands is actually considering only working 21 hours per week in the future. The New Economics Foundation is even advising that we work no more than that maximum of 21 hours per week if we want an increase in well-being, a reduction in societal inequalities, increased family importance, a lowering of carbon emissions and a solution to unemployment stagnation.
· 1946 was the year that all federal employees had a 40-hour working week set up.
· In 2015 the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average non-farm private sector employee works 34.5hours per week.
· The USA technically-speaking has no legal requirement to provide workers with paid annual leave at all and as such it represents the only country in the industrialized world in such circumstances.
· About one quarter of all American workers do not have any right to paid holidays.
· The other 75% of the workers get some paid leave usually representing somewhere in the region of two to three weeks off per year (with 9 national holidays and about 10 days of leave, increasing according to the number of years in the company).
Working Hours and Productivity
Many people believe that putting in 40 hours of presence in the work space can only be detrimental to activity and productivity of any worker. For years studies have shown that we should be doing no more than 30 hours a week if we want to be at the top and that figure is now getting lower and lower. Imagine how real unemployment would be if we were to actually reduce the number of hours everyone worked (and still paid them the same), took on more people and increased productivity. The trouble is the majority of boards and directors are prepared to diminish your hours, pay you less and take nobody o and get you to do the same amount of work in just a shorter time span. Hey, why take someone on when you can flog the horse that’s ready for the knacker’s yard, anyhow? Every last drop of blood and then and only then take someone on that you can flog to death too. Oh, for the joys of legalized slavery.
What is it we all say when we get a report that ranks the countries of this world for this or for that? We all complain that the Scandinavians are always at the top. If asked who’s the world’s best at doing this or the one that does the most in that, just reel off the Swedes, the Norwegians or the Danes. They are always at the top. The Danes, however, in the working-week rankings for once come in the last few places. They spend one of the least amounts of time at work than any other nation in the OECD [25]. That’s because the Danes have come to realize that if you can’t get your work done in less than 37 hours per week, then you are definitely in need of a holiday. Efficiency!
Working more than 40 hours a week is unproductive and it just makes you tired. Studies show that nobody is productive to any greater extent when they work 10 hours or when they work 8 hours per day. There are only benefits when there are short bursts from time to time to sometimes 60 or 70 hours a week, but then it has to come back down to the norm. Increasing by 50% the number of hours put in by any worker will only increase productivity by a maximum of 25%. The gains are not proportional, but there’re diminishing returns on that type of investment of effort.
Top most Productive Countries in the World
The GDP (PPP) per hour worked in the world measures the productivity per hour of input by a given worker. The rankings established by The Conference Board and Eurostat show the following:
1. Norway 75.18 GDP(PPP) per hour
2. Luxembourg 73.22
3. United States 67.32
4. Belgium 60.98
5. Netherlands 60.06
6. France 59.24
7. Germany 57.36
8. Ireland 56.05
9. Australia 55.87
10. Denmark 55.75
The United Kingdom comes in in 13th position with a score of 51.38. Bangladesh is the country with the least productivity, standing at 1.98. Mexico is 49th position with just a GDP (PPP) of 16.23. So, is there a correlation between the number of hours at work and the productivity of the time spent there? Greeks spend the most time at work in Europe and yet they are only in 31st position with a ranking of 32.77.
The number of hours spent at work has perhaps little to do with getting any financial gain for the person who works and everything to do with proving to yourself and to others that you are worth your weight in whatever when it comes to it. Society is only based up financial gain and economic activity [26]. Putting in the hours, whether it means being more productive or not, has very little impact. You are just showing everyone and yourself at the same time that you deserve your place in society because you are working like the slaves were forced to centuries ago. What progress! Busy B’s think gain importance from the number of hours they spend at the office. That’s proportional.
How many hours do you put in every week?

