This report offers an indispensable overview for understanding the European labour market through key indicators from the OECD, Eurostat and the World Economic Forum. The comparative table exposes the enormous gap between the nations that have consolidated reduced working hours and those that maintain high-intensity time regimes. While countries such as Germany (35 hours per week) record work-related stress of 18% and an unemployment rate of 3.5%, countries such as Portugal (38 hours) or Poland (40 hours) face different structural challenges with unemployment rates of 6.2% and 4.9% respectively, and stress levels reaching 21% in the Polish case. The information analysed highlights that, to date, none of the countries in the BRICS group has adopted a working-time reduction regime, which shows that this debate is, for the time being, a particularity of the European area and the European Economic Area. This document provides the empirical basis decision-makers need in order to assess the advisability of similar reforms, always bearing in mind that there is no unanimous global consensus on the ideal formula for balancing productivity and workers' well-being.
Report