The Hardest Working Countries In The World

[A.V.]

Everyone likes to think they work harder than everyone else, but the latest OECD data may surprise some Europeans and Americans who expected to be at the top of the world's hard work list. The latest data from the OECD sheds light on not just paid work, but also unpaid work such as cooking and other housework.
Notable absentees from the top 14 include Germany, France, and the UK. All of the countries listed have a work day longer than the OECD average.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-h...#ixzz1JiTlvKC5

 

[SHASH2K2]

This link should work.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hardest-working-countries-in-the-world-2011-4

 

[Nonynon]

Don't know why the unpaid worked minutes matter, it gives the developed countries a huge disadvantage. Personally I would add the pension age to the list instead.

 

[niharjhatn]

Wow - wassup with Mexico!! Almost an hour more than the next highest in terms of hours worked!

 

[Armand2REP]

Notable absentees from the top 14 include Germany, France, and the UK. All of the countries listed have a work day longer than the OECD average.

Am I supposed to be suprised France is not on the list? We are like the laziest country on earth. Only our high productivity per hour saves us.

 

[Vladimir79]

Wow - wassup with Mexico!! Almost an hour more than the next highest in terms of hours worked!

What is suprising about that? They work forever for a dime. If you count all the drug labour, it is the highest.

 

[niharjhatn]

Am I supposed to be suprised France is not on the list? We are like the laziest country on earth. Only our high productivity per hour saves us.

I don't think it is necessarily only productivity - if you look at the absentees, it is largely because of an already comfortable lifestyle that perhaps people are not inclined to pull a Mexican standoff and work for hours and hours.

Some of the comments on the article (perhaps trying to defend their nation's absence) immediately point to productivity - but I think its fair to say in a survey of office jobs around the world - the number of people slacking and the number of people working hard will be fairly similar.

But a fairly elementary article, okay for a lol or two, but stupid to read into too much!!

 

[Nonynon]

Israel would be on that list if it wasn't for that huge religious population that prays instead of working

 

[Rage]

Israel would be on that list if it wasn't for that huge religious population that prays instead of working

I would disagree. I've interacted with a fair number of Israelis, and I'd have to say that they rank right up there with most. They work smart, if not necessarily as long as their counterparts, and despite compunctions of Sabbath, etc. the religious ones usually are the ones that work the longest.

The 'secular' ones, the young hippie culture are the ones that tend to take it a lil bit more easy, they fill the shores of our country down South in the summer. The religious ones tend to have no lives, other than family, torah and work.

As for the topic at hand, I don't agree with Mexico being right up there. I'd probably put S Korea or Japan, where long overtime hours are regular. I'd also put some Eastern European countries, primarily because of the harshness of long rural and winter labour. Chinese peasants, followed closely by Indian ones probably work the hardest in Asia.

P.S. New York, as an independent employment domain, is not too far behind- with some people workin' upto 21 hrs in the juridicial and financial sectors. I know just one such guy. His hard work and dedication has now led him to become the Asst. District Attorney for New York, from his humble beginnings in Goa. He works an average of 124 hrs. a week.

 

[Nonynon]

That might be true for some of the religious people here but about half don't work, they call it 'Toratam amonatam' - their bible is their work, and that makes about 7-8% of Israel's population. As a person that used to live in USA I can tell you that the 'hippi culture' is far from what it is in USA but its true it exists but its countered with a pension age of 67 and the fact every person spends his ages of 18-21 working in the army (don't know if that counts as a job for the article). The hipi stuff is when people finish the army service they go to a year or two of 'finding themselves', usually in India. The Rest rush to the universities or work in order to make up for the past 3 economically empty years. Then theirs also the 20% Arab population... Yea I'm not surprised Israel isn't on the list.

I think Mexico is their for the unpaid hours, not the overall worked hours.

 

[Armand2REP]

I don't think it is necessarily only productivity - if you look at the absentees, it is largely because of an already comfortable lifestyle that perhaps people are not inclined to pull a Mexican standoff and work for hours and hours.

They don't get a comfortable lifestyle by doing nothing. The application line is always long so firing people to get someone to do the work is easy. France has the lowest number of union members in the developed democratized world. When you go to work in France, be prepared to be productive or you won't have a job.

Some of the comments on the article (perhaps trying to defend their nation's absence) immediately point to productivity - but I think its fair to say in a survey of office jobs around the world - the number of people slacking and the number of people working hard will be fairly similar.

In a highly unionised country slacking will be more. One with underemployment will have more. It all depends on what the corporate culture of that country can afford to tolerate. Productivity per hour in China is so low because they have A) largest union in the world B) underemployment and C) inefficient production methods.... not to mention bad management. They have to work 60-80hr a week just to be as productive as French in one day.

 

[niharjhatn]

They don't get a comfortable lifestyle by doing nothing. The application line is always long so firing people to get someone to do the work is easy. France has the lowest number of union members in the developed democratized world. When you go to work in France, be prepared to be productive or you won't have a job.

Not trying to bash on France, but many European countries have done some terrible things in order to end up with their 'comfortable lifestyle' today.

Considering you are French, if you say productivity is high, then I'll accept it - there definitely are lowest number of union members, but many other nations can be considered almost as 'productive' with much higher union members.