Dolores and Diego sent in a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The study measured time use in 30 countries, demonstrating significant differences in the amount of work and leisure enjoyed, on average.
The country reporting the fewest work hours was Belgium at just about 7 hours a day. The country reporting the most was Mexico; Mexicans reported working almost 10 hours per day. That’s enough hours to translate into 45.5 extra days a year that Mexicans work in excess of Belgians, and a month of extra work hours compared to the average country in this study (at 8 hours a day).
The OECD has also reported gender gaps in leisure across countries (Norway had the smallest gap in that study; Italy the largest) and we’ve seen the gender leisure gap reflected in American advertising.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 8
AlgebraAB — May 27, 2011
I think a quantitative comparison like this is worthless without a qualitative element to go with it. The type of work people are doing is more important than the precise number of hours. Working 8 hours in manual labor or in agriculture is a radically different experience than working 8 hours in an office or in a store.
In fact, this chart can be dangerously misleading. For example, the numbers indicate that Indian workers work less time than U.S. workers. At first glance, that may imply that U.S. workers face worse conditions. Once we look at the qualitative aspect however, it's clear how ridiculous that is. Americans are concentrated in the service and professional sectors. The majority of Indians still live in rural areas and perform back-breaking agrarian labor that is often still pre-industrial in its techniques. Also, the average income in the U.S. affords a much better standard-of-living than the average income in India affords.
Day — May 28, 2011
Am I crazy, or do we have no units for the vertical axis?
eeka — May 28, 2011
"Total minutes worked" says the title.
A — May 30, 2011
I think calling it leisure time is incorrect. It's unpaid work, not golfing or playing video games.