The cushiest work schedules have been chalked up to the French who are reported to work the fewest hours of any country in Europe.
Full-time salaried workers in France put in 1,646 hours in 2015, according to the latest study by Eurostat and Coe-Rexecode.
The British worked 228 more hours, the Germans nearly 200 more, and the Italians 130 hours longer than the French.
France is famed for its 35-hour week, a figure soon to be the norm in Portugal. In just two years until 2015, the gap in working hours widened between France and its European neighbours, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, and Germany. By 2014, the French had snatched the crown away from Finland who previously worked the fewest hours in Europe.
French government workers were found to put in the lowest number of hours, with public administration, education, health, and social action officials managing to turn up for 1,569 hours per year, just shy of the 1,607 hours per year which comprise the 35 hour week.
It's not all work though as French workers are entitled to at least five weeks holiday per year and up to 22 days of RTT (Reduction of Working Time) for those who choose or have to work more than 35 hours per week.
Eurostat’s calculations revealed that the average French salaried worker takes an enviable 10.6 weeks out of the year to rechgarge the batteries.
This breaks down to seven weeks of holiday time or RTT, 1.6 weeks off for sickness or childcare, 0.8 weeks off for public holidays, 0.5 weeks off for “other”, 0.4 for maternity or paternity leave, and 0.2 for training.
At the same time, part-time workers were putting in 6% more hours than the European average.
One of the labour reforms the French Socialist government is trying to introduce will let companies make the length of the working week more flexible. On top of its other serious travails, the reforms are being met with steely resistance by the workforce whose slack approach to the work ethic is matched only by fierce resistance when threatened.
