New data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, reveals a striking divergence in average weekly working hours across the continent. While the EU average stands at 35.9 hours for workers aged 20 to 64 in their main job, national figures range from just under 32 hours in the Netherlands to nearly 40 in Greece. When EU candidate countries and EFTA members are included, the gap widens further, with Turkey recording 42.4 hours per week.
Balkan nations dominate the upper end of the spectrum. Within the EU, Greece leads at 39.6 hours, followed by Bulgaria at 38.7. Among candidate countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina (40.9 hours) and Serbia (40.6 hours) also exceed the 40-hour threshold, as does North Macedonia (39.5). These are the only European economies where the average working week surpasses eight hours a day over a five-day schedule.
Why Balkan Countries Work Longer
Professor David Spencer of the University of Leeds told Euronews Business that lower productivity and limited worker bargaining power help explain the longer hours in these countries. “In no country do workers 'choose' the hours they work: rather, they work a 'normal' set of hours (the latter being influenced by employers),” he said. Jorge Cabrita, senior research manager at Eurofound, added that differences in working-time setting regimes—how hours are negotiated and regulated—also play a role.
The pattern is consistent: Northern and Western European states tend to have shorter working weeks than their Eastern and Central counterparts. Germany, for instance, records 33.9 hours per week, the lowest among the EU's four largest economies. That is 1.7 hours fewer than France (35.6), 2.2 fewer than Italy (36.1), and 2.4 fewer than Spain (36.3). Spencer attributes Germany's shorter hours partly to “the strength of unions and the positive effect of collective bargaining.”
The Netherlands: A Case Study in Part-Time Work
The Netherlands stands out as Europe's shortest-working-week champion at 31.9 hours. Cabrita notes that part-time workers account for nearly 43% of total employment there—a share far higher than in any other EU member state. The country also has one of the shortest collectively agreed working weeks in the bloc. However, Spencer cautions that “the working week for full-time workers is still closer to 40 hours.” Germany, Norway, and Denmark follow at 33.9 hours, meaning Dutch workers put in roughly two fewer hours per week than their nearest counterparts.
Other countries with average weekly hours below 35 include Austria (34.0), Belgium (34.3), and Finland (34.7). In these seven nations, the average working day amounts to less than seven hours across a five-day week.
What Drives the Differences?
Cabrita identifies three main drivers: working-time setting regimes, employment structures, and broader economic structures. Countries where trade unions and collective bargaining strongly influence working-time limits tend to have shorter actual hours, less overtime, and better compliance with labour regulations. The share of part-time employment also matters: the larger it is, the lower the average. Self-employed workers, who often have more autonomy, tend to log longer hours than employees, especially if they employ others.
Sectoral composition further shapes national averages. Skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers record the longest weeks in the EU at 42 hours, followed by managers (40.6) and armed forces personnel (39.4). At the other end, elementary occupations average just 31.8 hours, with clerical support (34.0) and service and sales workers (34.5) also below the EU mean. These variations reflect the different economic structures of member states—for example, a larger agricultural sector can push up a country's average.
The data underscores that Europe's working week is far from uniform. While some nations have embraced shorter hours through collective bargaining and part-time arrangements, others still rely on longer schedules, often tied to lower productivity and weaker labour protections. As the continent debates the future of work—including the potential for a four-day week—these figures provide a baseline for understanding where different countries stand.
