Some years ago in my old blog I posed this question. What is the ideal working week around the world.
I was discussing the working hour week with friends that work around the world in different countries, comparing the average and what is now deemed as acceptable or viewed as the new standard, regardless of the contracted hours so these posts caught my eye.
Some people feel they have to work long hours or stay late at work even when there is nothing to do. Almost like staying late is the norm, to the extent of faking it. Then there is the other side that seem to think there should be some shame associated with working long hours.
An old survey lists out which countries work the longest hours in Europe the real question though is how does this link to productivity.
Personally I think it’s all about having a balance and scaling up and down as required rather than having a set pattern. However it looks like, due to Covid forcing organizations to make workers remote all this is about to change. There have been a few news reports about burnout and even longer working hours but this time whilst working from home.
Even the WHO has jumped in raising the awareness of increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke. “Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” said Maria Neira, the director of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health.
There is also talk about reducing the working week to 4 days as seen on CNBC and the 4 Day Week Campaign here
What do you think?