Australians among the hardest workers in the world

[Aceyducey]

So is this good news or bad....what do you think?


Don't bother complaining about the long hours you're putting in at work - back in 1979 Australians were slogging away for almost an extra two hours-a-week.

But compared with the rest of the world, Australians spend a lot of time at their job.

According to the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) employment outlook, full-time and part-time working Australians put in an average 1,814 hours each year, equating to almost 38 hours a week over the 48-week working year.

That made Aussies the sixth-hardest workers among the 30 OECD nations, behind Korea, Czech and Slovak Republics, Greece and Mexico.

Norway had the lowest working hours with 1,337 a year, or under 28 hours a week taking into account four weeks holidays a year, compared with Korea's effort of almost 50 hours a week.

The 1,814 average annual hours worked by Australians in 2003 was significantly less than the 1,904 hours - or just under 40 hours a week - racked up by workers in 1979.
Source: SMH - http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/08/1089000284684.html


Cheers,

Aceyducey

[Glebe]

It's great news, it goes into the mix to create a productive economy. Having said that, lets not confuse hard working with long working. Simply staying at your desk doesn't mean much if you're producing little return for your company.

[Spiderman]

Related to an interesting discussion on aus.invest newsgroup.

posted by xylord:

"Compare France with America," the Economist invites. "Between 1970 and 2000,
America's GDP per hour worked rose by 38% and average hours worked per person
rose by 26%, so GDP per person increased 64%. French GDP per hour rose by a more
impressive 83%, but hours worked per person fell 23%.


Rgds, Peter

[sbe]

Hear hear Glebe !!!

Work smarter, not harder.

I can't stand bosses who are hung up on how long you're at work, rather than what you produce while you're there !

hmmm.

I'll stop now before I really start ranting... :o

Simon
{Grumpy employee who focuses on quality, not quantity!}

[NigelW]

Aussies, what a bunch of lightweights...Sheesh, I must be Korean... :(

or maybe some weeks 1.5 - 2 Koreans... :eek: :( :mad:

I gotta get a new occupation or a second NigelW to do it all... :rolleyes:

[rodimus]

most countries in Asia people work 6 days a week, even the banks, government offices, etc. And they work longer hours, eg my friend in Sth Korea works 6 days a week, from 8am to 7.30pm. And its Samsung head office.

Many friends in Singapore and Malaysia, they are professionals like engineers and architect, work 6 days most weeks, and some weeks they do 7 days a week (without extra pay!). The workers union in those countires are not that strong.
I think that statistic wasnt that accurate :D