{"id":15497,"date":"2020-10-13T06:59:07","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T06:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/?p=15497"},"modified":"2022-06-21T08:07:15","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T08:07:15","slug":"worlds-busiest-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/featured\/worlds-busiest-countries\/","title":{"rendered":"Longest Work Days and the World’s Busiest Countries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking regular breaks at work is essential for your physical and mental wellbeing. At\u00a063%<\/a>, the majority of workers are more productive when they take a proper lunch break, and 58% say they feel more refreshed and focused if they physically leave work during their break. Despite these apparent benefits, 82%<\/a> of workers skip their lunch break entirely in favour of completing tasks. Combine that with long hours and the recent workplace upheaval caused by COVID-19, and it\u2019s no wonder lack of work-life balance has become such a global issue.<\/p>\n

Countries Working the Longest Hours<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The latest research has placed Mexico at the top of the list for most hours<\/a> worked, with employees in the country putting in 2137 hours annually. This is followed by Costa Rica, at 2059.6 hours a year, Korea at 1967 hours a year, and Greece at 1949 hours a year.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the scale, Denmark<\/a>, Germany<\/a> and Norway<\/a> have the lowest average annual working hours, all coming in at below 1400.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Country <\/strong><\/td>\nAnnual Hours Worked (2019)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mexico<\/td>\n2137<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Costa Rica<\/td>\n2060<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Korea<\/td>\n1967<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Greece<\/td>\n1949<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russia<\/td>\n1965<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chile<\/td>\n1914<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Israel<\/td>\n1898<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poland<\/td>\n1806<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Czech Republic<\/td>\n1788<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Zealand<\/td>\n1779<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
United States<\/td>\n1779<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ireland<\/td>\n1772<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hungary<\/td>\n1725<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Portugal<\/td>\n1719<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Italy<\/td>\n1717<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Australia<\/td>\n1712<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Estonia<\/td>\n1711<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slovak Republic<\/td>\n1695<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Canada<\/td>\n1670<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spain<\/td>\n1686<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Latvia<\/td>\n1661<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japan<\/td>\n1644<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lithuania<\/td>\n1635<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slovenia<\/td>\n1593<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Belgium<\/td>\n1583<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Switzerland<\/td>\n1557<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Finland<\/td>\n1540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
United Kingdom<\/td>\n1538<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luxembourg<\/td>\n1506<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
France<\/td>\n1505<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austria<\/td>\n1501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iceland<\/td>\n1454<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sweden<\/td>\n1452<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netherlands<\/td>\n1434<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Germany<\/td>\n1386<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Denmark<\/td>\n1380<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Norway<\/td>\n1384<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Between 2015 and 2019, the countries experiencing the sharpest increase in the number of annual hours worked were the Czech Republic, New Zealand and the UK, rising by 32, 28 and 11 hours respectively.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Korea saw the most significant decline in annual working hours in the same period, dropping by 116 hours. This was followed by Costa Rica, with an 88.6-hour decrease, and Chile, with an 84-hour drop.<\/p>\n

Lunch Breaks Disappear as Work-Life Balance Slips<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A survey of 27 countries revealed some key facts about how employees are balancing their days between time spent at their desks, and time spent on breaks. It seems the concept of a \u201clunch hour\u201d has become a thing of the past, with the average lunch break<\/a> lasting 35 minutes.<\/p>\n

Countries with the most extended lunch break times are predominantly in Asia, while the lowest are mostly found in Europe.<\/p>\n

The five most prolonged lunch break durations were found in these countries:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Country<\/strong><\/td>\nLunch Break Duration<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brazil<\/td>\n48 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Malaysia<\/td>\n47 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japan<\/td>\n46 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Portugal<\/td>\n44 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Korea<\/td>\n43 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

While the shortest durations were recorded in these countries:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Country<\/strong><\/td>\nLunch Break Duration<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mexico<\/td>\n30 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Zealand<\/td>\n30 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spain<\/td>\n28 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poland<\/td>\n24 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Greece<\/td>\n19 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Busiest\u00a0Places\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>vs Work-Life Balance<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Being in the top 5 countries for longest annual working hours and shortest daily lunch breaks, it seems Mexico and Greece are some of the world\u2019s busiest (and likely most overworked) countries. Mexico\u2019s annual working hours have remained relatively steady with a small drop of 3 hours since 2015, while Greece\u2019s hours have risen slightly by 5.<\/p>\n

With 74% of Greek workers reporting that they get only 15 minutes or no lunch break, Greece is undoubtedly one of the European nations most lacking in a healthy work-life balance.<\/p>\n

Statista ranked countries around the world on their work-life balance, appointing a score out of 10 based on working hours, time for leisure\/ personal time and employment rate of mothers.<\/p>\n

Not only does Mexico have some of the longest annual hours and shortest break times, but it also currently has the second-worst work-life balance<\/a> score globally (1.1, second only to Colombia at 0.9). The US and the UK were also among the worst-scoring countries, scoring 6 and 6.4 respectively.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Netherlands, which has some of the lowest annual working hours, is ranked as having the best work-life balance<\/a>, with a score of 9.5. Denmark and Norway, two more countries listed as having the lowest annual working hours, also made the top 10 for the best work-life balance.<\/p>\n

What Makes Taking a Break Difficult?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

When giving their reasons for cutting their lunch breaks short, or taking none at all, employees cited the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n