This Country Has the Shortest Workweek — Here’s How It Compares to the U.S.
The U.S. isn't the worst, but it's also far from the best
By | Evie Carrick | www.travelandleisure.com
You’ve heard it before, and until it changes, you’ll likely hear it again: Americans are workaholics. Many of us take work to the next level, pushing beyond the standard eight-hour work day and even tacking on the occasional weekend just to get the job done. We check our email from bed and clock in on vacation. One study found that a whopping 48% of Americans consider themselves workaholics.
These days, with work-life balance being top of mind, some U.S. companies are toying with the idea of a four-day workweek and it has some wondering what a shorter workweek could really look like.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental economic organization of 38 member countries, including nations like the U.S., Greece, New Zealand, and Sweden, did some digging on the average number of hours people work in a typical week around the world. And while the latest numbers available are from 2020, the data paints a picture of what a standard workweek might look like in countries from Italy to Iceland.
