People in Greece apparently work more hours than most other residents of European Union countries, with only Romania and Bulgaria fielding longer labor hours, according to results of a report released this week by the French institute Rexecode.
In fact, a worker/wage-earner/self-employed professional’s average weekly employment is far higher than then EU average, more-or-less busting the “lazy southerner” stereotype widely circulated by the country’s critics during the punishing economic and fiscal crisis that gripped Greece for a decade.
Specifically, the report says a working person in Greece clocks in approximately 2,000 hours of employment per year, compared with the EU average of 1,792 hours.
The result brings Greece into third place out of 27+1 countries (UK is included), behind Romania (2,043 hours) and Bulgaria (1,943 hours).
Conversely, working people in the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria and Germany – among the most advanced countries in the world, no less – record under 1,600 hours of employment per year.
However, self-employed professionals in Greece put in the highest number of work hours per year, higher than all other EU countries, at 2,377. Ireland is second with 2,298 hours.
