Amidst the debate on the new measure to reduce the working day to 37.5 hours, which PSOE and Sumar agreed to in their agreement with the government if they get enough support in the investiture, the focus is on the European Union. How many hours do you work per week in each country?
In Spain, in general, an average of 40.4 hours per week is worked, according to Eurostat. Although there are already some sectors such as education or finance that include 37.5 hours in their collective agreement. To find out if you can benefit from this step in the future, you should consult the agreement and the sector to which you belong.
These are the working hours in other European Union countries
The European Statistical Office collects, among other data, the weekly hours worked by every full-time employed person between 15 and 64 years old. The parameters show that currently, in Spain, the same work is done as in Germany and Belgium and more in the Netherlands, Denmark or Finland but also less in Greece, Austria or Sweden.
The European average is 40.5 hours, so in Spain people still work less (with 40.4 hours per week) than the average in the countries of the European Union. Greece is the country where the most hours are worked with a total of 42.7 hours per week. Austria followed with 41.7 and Sweden with 41.6. In contrast, the country with the least working hours today is Finland with 38.7 hours, followed by Denmark with 39.1 and the Netherlands with 39.4.
If the reduction of working hours agreed between PSOE and Sumar is approved, if they manage to manage, Spain will become the country of the European Union, ahead of Finland, where the least work can be done. With the goal of achieving a day of 38.5 in 2024 and 37.5 in 2025.
However, although these are the official data collected by law in each country, it is known that the working hours performed per week are lower due to the agreements reached between employers and unions. In fact, Eurostat estimates that in Spain, according to the latest data of 2022, the real working day will be 37.8 hours per week on average.
