Despite having limits, some countries naturally work less than the maximum limit. Office brokers, Click Offices wanted to find out how many average hours each country works per week and year, so analysed 13 years of OECD data from 2010-2023. Click Offices averaged the hours worked annually across 38 countries and calculated the average working week per country based on this historical data.
According to our research, the average worker worldwide spends 1,703 hours a year working, equalling 32.7 hours per week. A past report from Careersmart found the jobs with the longest hours including shopkeeping, managing a garage, hotel workers and healthcare workers*.
UK workers clock less hours than Irish counterparts
On average, the UK works fewer hours yearly compared to Ireland. The UK recorded an average of 1,524 hours per year, equating to 29.31 hours per week. Ranking 29th out of 38 countries, the UK has some of the shortest working weeks among OECD countries. Ireland is ranked 20th out of the 38 countries analysed for the highest average working hours per year. On average, an Irish worker clocks up 32.8 hours per week of work, equalling 1,678 hours annually.
The average UK working week has largely stayed the same, despite recent law changes to encourage rights to flexible working. From 2010 to 2023, the average hours worked per week has stayed relatively the same, ranging from 28.98 hours worked per week in 2010 to 29.31 in 2023. Only in the pandemic did weekly hours temporarily drop slightly to 26.23 in 2020.
Women versus men’s working weeks
Women in the UK were three times more likely to do part-time hours (under 20 hours per week) than men. This indicates women are still being impacted by childcare and family caring responsibilities, which can hinder their opportunities of full time work. Three times as many men versus women were found to be working over 40 hours per week in the UK, showing the gender imbalance that still exists in our workplaces.
Worldwide, Germany works the least hours every week and Colombia works the most hours
The data found that Germany was the country with the least average hours worked every year based on historical data. Germany reported an average annual working year of 1,382 hours or an average of 26.58 hours worked weekly.
Colombia was the country which clocks the most working hours each week.Colombia reported an average working year of 2,364 hours and average working week of 45.56 hours. Colombians work, on average, an extra 18.9 hours per week longer than Germany each year. Both Germany and Colombia have a legal maximum of 48 working hours per week, but they differ significantly in the actual number of hours worked weekly.
Shane Duffy, MD of Click Offices commented:
“The study has presented some interesting findings, showing more can be done to establish equal opportunities for both men and women in the workplace. The UK has laws entitling workers to flexible working but employers can do more to encourage fair working practices across the board. Shared parental leave and equal policies for male and female parents can allow more balance as women can work more whilst men can share parental responsibilities.
”Worldwide, the data shows that despite countries having similar policies on maximum working hours, countries like Germany have different societal attitudes which leads to lower average working weeks. It’s important for employers to create a positive and supportive work environment, whether working remotely or onsite, to encourage workers to be productive with the hours of work they undertake each week.”
