What Are the Average Working Hours Around the World?

We looked at data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to work out the average working hours per week for workers in 37 countries across the globe and the results vary significantly.

We may know what countries have the longest workweeks—and the shortest—but how do we explain the drastic differences in hours? And most importantly, are there any further implications?

According to Gallup, employees are at greater risk of burnout when the number of hours they work exceeds 45 hours per week. Signs of overworked employees may not always be obvious at first, but burnout is a hidden threat that can cost your company millions.

Read on as we discover the average working hours by country and discuss the importance of being mindful about how many hours your team are working.

Average working hours by country

First, let’s look at the top five counties with the highest working hours and the five with the lowest working hours. This is based on the average working hours per person per year in 2024.

Countries with the highest working hours

1. Mexico (2,193 annual hours per worker)
2. Costa Rica (2,149 annual hours per worker)
3. Chile (1,919 annual hours per worker)
4. Greece (1,898 annual hours per worker)
5. Israel (1,877 annual hours per worker)

Countries with the lowest working hours

1. Austria (1,432 annual hours per worker)
2. Sweden (1,431 annual hours per worker)
3. Norway (1,407 annual hours per worker)
4. Denmark (1,379 annual hours per worker)
5. Germany (1,331 annual hours per worker)

Average working hours per week by country

But what do the average working hours per week look like for each country? Let’s take a closer look.

Which countries have the longest working hours?

Of the countries recorded in the 2024 study:

• Mexico had the longest workweek at 42 hours per week.
• Followed by Costa Rica (41.0).

The average working hours per year per person across all 37 countries included in the data set was 1,652. Of the 10 countries that work longer hours than the average:

• three are European
• four are from the Americas, which is noteworthy since only five American nations were included in the study.

The data itself doesn’t reflect why these countries are working longer hours, but labor laws might have something to do with it. Consider that, according to labor laws, the maximum workweek clocks in at 48 hours in Mexico and Costa Rica. These laws —and how they are enforced—likely impact the extreme variances in workweeks between these countries and those with more stringent labor laws.

Which countries have the shortest work hours?

There is a very clear correlation between the top five countries with shorter work weeks: They’re all European. In fact, the top 10 countries included in the data set whose employees worked the least hours per year are all European nations.

Here are the five countries with the lowest average working hours overall:

At the bottom of the list is Germany, which averages at 25.5 hours per week—16.5 hours less than Mexico.

Considering each of these countries boasts a thriving economy, it’s easy to wonder if the recent four day work week trails have a role to play in these figures.

The four-day work week trails preaching a “100 to 80 to 100” concept first kicked off in Germany at the end of 2023 and soon gained traction in other European countries. The idea behind the concept is that employees keep 100% of their salary but reduce their hours to 80% while still contributing 100% of their skillset.

What are the average working hours in the US?

Data from the OECD shows that employees in the US worked an average of 1,796 hours in 2024. This equates to:

• 34.5 hours per week
• 150 hours per month

But how do these average working hours in the US compare to previous years? And have the average American working hours changed in the last 10 years? Rewind to 2014, and the data shows employees in the US worked an average of 1,830 hours that year, compared to 1,796 hours in 2024. That represents a total fall of 34 hours.

There could be many reasons why Americans are working less. However, new findings from Gallup reveal that employees are now placing a higher priority on their overall wellbeing and work-life balance. This is especially high among younger generations.

Why do employers need to think about working hours?

So, what does this all mean? Put simply, individual countries work in their own way, at their own rate, and for varying lengths of time. These variances extend to individual organizations, and increasingly to employees.

With three in four US employees experiencing workplace burnout from time, employers must be mindful of how many hours their team are working. Burnout doesn’t just affect employees; it can also have costly consequences for your organization. From decreased productivity to increased employee turnover.

So, ask yourself: are your employees at risk of burnout? Or do you offer work-life balance that will bring the most out of your people?