New research into working habits from around the globe has revealed the countries with the longest working days, lunch breaks and commutes.
Which countries are the hardest-working in the world? Do you have any ideas who definitely would or wouldn’t be in the running?
The people at Printerland.co.uk were curious about this question so they set out to compile data on the working days of employees around the world.
The research examines everything from the length of commutes to the length of breaks and average working hours around the world. It found that employees based in Nigeria, Cameroon and South Korea have the longest shifts, clocking in at 12 hours on average.
The length of working days is exacerbated by other factors, such as the cultural pressure on South Korean staff to attend informal meetings and staff dinners, which can mean they don’t get the opportunity to head home until 9pm at night.
A similar pressure is felt by workers in Japan, a country that has been recently dogged by negative press surrounding the frequency of deaths from overwork.
In Nigeria, the toll of long working days is compounded by a gruelling three-hour commute, as a result of bad traffic and inadequate infrastructure. For similar reasons, workers in Pakistan also have to contend with extensive travel time to and from work.
Finland and Canada are tied for the shortest working day, coming in at six hours and 45 minutes. Meanwhile, workers in Romania can expect to work nine hours and 45 minutes.
Workers in Spain have the longest evenings due to their famous ‘siestas’, though some employees are opting to get home earlier as opposed to taking the protracted break, which seems to suggest that the practice is waning in popularity. Indeed, the Spanish government has been making some attempts to phase out the practice in order to get Spain more in line with other eurozone countries.
Greek people have the most frustrating commutes in all of Europe, spending an hour on the road each way. This is twice the European average and twice the commute of a UK worker, who spends half an hour getting to and from work.
To view the data in full, check out the infographic below.
Click to enlarge. Infographic: Printerland.co.uk
