Michael Cole
Despite working less hours than their peers in other European countries, a bigger percentage of people from Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark enjoy vacations at home and abroad.
Comparing the ‘Average annual hours actually worked per worker’ in 12 European Countries with their ‘Participation in tourism for personal purposes in stays of 4 nights or over’, we see that some countries have it better than others.
Taking the average figures from both categories, some notable findings emerge. Below is the average of the combined hours worked per worker between 2012-15.
Annual hours actually worked on average between 2012-15 (OECD Stat)
German workers were found to do 1369 hours of actual work on average over the 4 years, which is an incredibly low 26-hour week. They were followed closely behind by the Dutch and Danish at 1417 and 1452 respectively. With workers in The Netherlands doing on average 27 hours a week and those in Denmark 28 hours a week.
In contrast, Greek workers did an astonishing 678 hours more than their German counterparts. Greece’s economic problems are well documented and with a European high average unemployment rate of 26% between 2012-15, it’s clear that those who were in employment had to compensate for the lower work force by working extra hours.
Here in Ireland we managed to come in around the middle bracket of hours worked, doing more than Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Italy but less than Greece, Poland, Latvia, Hungary and Estonia.
You might think that since every country in this list is a member of the EU that their quality of life may be somewhat similar, but this is not the case. Working more does not translate into more money for those workers in less well-off countries and certainly not into more time spent on holiday.
Despite being bottom of the list for hours worked, the Germans were near the top of the list for the percentage of their population that went on vacation for 4 days or over. The average unemployment rate between 2012-15 in Germany was only 5%, a huge 21% less than Greece’s. Most people in the country can get work and obtain a sufficient income to go on holiday.
% of Population who participated in Tourism for personal purposes on stays of 4 nights or over between 2012-15 (Eurostat)
Denmark ranks the highest in this regard, with 74% of the population being able to go on holiday at some point during the year and escape the country’s cold climes.
The people of Latvia are not so fortunate however, with only 26% of its people going on trips. Latvians worked 1926 hours a year on average between 2012-15, the 3rd highest after Greece and Poland.
In Ireland, just over half of us end up going on a holiday of 4 days or over each year.
So, it’s clear that if you live in certain countries you can go on holiday more often. Working hard does not result in time to go places. However, surely if the wage in the countries whose people do more work was higher, they could afford to take time off. Denmark has by far the highest average annual wages for full time workers at current rates, steadily increasing over the years, the average wage between 2012-15 came in at 414,524.99kr or €55,697.
Average annual wage for full time workers 2012-15 (OECD Stat)
This is nearly 5 times the annual wage you might expect to get in Hungary and really shows that being part of the EU does not guarantee prosperity for some of its workers. However. Denmark’s high living costs must be considered too, high taxes result in better health care, but ensures a significant contribution from each person benefitting from the system is made.
Ireland ranks second highest with an average annual income of €47,118 for full time workers. This figure does reflect the situation in the country completely though, with Ireland having the third highest part time employment rate in the EU after The Netherlands and the UK at around 24%. These part time workers only earn a fraction of what full time workers can expect to earn in the country.
The Netherlands has by far the highest rate of part time workers in the EU, with the average percentage of the workforce being part time between 2012-15 around 38%. So why is it so far above the European average?
When the World Wars ravaged Europe in the 20th century, many Dutch men did not go off to fight in the war. Women could stay at home and take of their children, while the wealth of The Netherlands meant that the money a man earned was sufficient to support a household.
Women were never integrated into the workforce like in other countries and when it did happen it was relatively late, near the end of the 1980s. However, the same ethos prevailed and many women took part time jobs so they would still have enough time with their family. It was written into Dutch law in 2000 that women and men have a right to ask for a job to the part time. This is directly related to Dutch workers doing the 2nd least number of hours worked per year in Europe.
However, in Germany, the country where workers do the least amount of work in a year, part time work is not a major factor. For the country that has the powerful economy in the EU, there is certainly something unique going on.
German exports are widely valued and cheap, which give it an advantage in the export market. Added to that, German companies never spent big when other companies across Europe were doing so, this gave them extra cash to fall back when the Eurozone was on the verge of collapse in 2012, which was not available in certain countries.
As to why Germans work less? Germans seem to take the time when they are in work more seriously, they like to get things done efficiently and then have free time afterwards, rather than adopt a lazy attitude to work. This widespread cultural attitude has positive benefits on the country’s productivity. The high quality of work is rewarded with a high wage and a high quality of life.