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What “Working Hours” Really Mean in 2025
Before we dive into the numbers, let’s clear something up: working hours aren’t as straightforward as they sound.
Some countries measure the hours you’re contracted to work, while others track hours actually worked — including commute time, on-call duty, travel, follow-up emails, and the little “five-minute tasks” that magically turn into 45.
Employees often feel they’re working more than what their payroll says — and in many companies, they’re not wrong.
Why does this matter? Because working hours influence productivity, burnout, operational costs, team morale, and even your ability to hire and retain top talent.
How Working Hours Have Evolved Over Time
If we zoom out, the evolution of working hours is almost a timeline of human progress.
- Early 1900s: 60–70-hour weeks were the norm.
- Mid-1900s: The 40-hour workweek took root across the U.S. and Europe.
- 2000s: Globalization and technology extended “informal working hours.”
- 2020s: Remote work, asynchronous teams, and 4-day-week experiments challenged traditional schedules.
Now, in 2025, we’re in a balancing act—trying to maintain productivity without sacrificing well-being.
Global Snapshot: Working Hours in 2025
Here’s a quick view of where the world stands:
- Global average hours per week: around 36–42 hours, depending on the region. According to Eurostat’s 2024 labour force survey, the average actual working week in the EU was 36.0 hours, ranging from 32.1 hours in the Netherlands to 39.8 hours in Greece — one of the widest internal variations within a developed economic region.
- Annual working hours: most countries sit between 1,600–2,100 hours/year
- Short-hour countries: Denmark, Netherlands, Germany (OECD: ~1,350–1,500 hrs/year)
- Long-hour countries: Mexico, South Korea (some industries), and parts of Asia and LATAM
But averages don’t tell the full story. Culture, enforcement, job type, industry pressure, and economic conditions shape how long people actually work.
Working Hours by Region: A 2025 Overview
Europe: Shorter Hours, Higher Efficiency
Countries like France and Germany maintain 35–37 actual weekly hours. Eurostat’s 2024 data shows that 37.3% of employed Europeans work between 40 and 44.5 hours weekly, making this the most common working-hour band across the EU. Strict labor laws and a focus on work-life balance keep hours low without hurting output.
North America: Standard 40-Hour Week (But Often More)
The U.S. follows a 40-hour standard, but actual working hours hover around 36–38 — with after-hours emails quietly adding to the real total.
Asia & Oceania: Reforms After Extreme Overwork
China’s 44-hour standard is still common, though the infamous “996” culture is slowly fading.
South Korea has reduced average weekly hours below 40 in many sectors.
Latin America: Long Hours
Mexico often tops charts with some of the highest annual hours globally.
Africa & Middle East
Shift-heavy industries and informal sectors push hours beyond global norms.
Working Hours by Industry & Job Type
Working hours vary dramatically by profession:
Tech & Knowledge workers
Hours may look balanced on paper, but real work often extends into late-night work.
Expert Insight: Across the teams I’ve supported over the past 10+ years, “invisible overtime” is the biggest silent drain in IT — people working 6–8 extra hours weekly that never get logged.
Healthcare
Many frontline roles exceed 50 hours/week.
Manufacturing & Logistics
Shift-based, often near legal maximums + regular overtime.
Gig & platform workers
Fragmented hours; many juggle multiple roles.
“Agriculture, forestry and fishing recorded the longest working week in 2024 at 41.2 hours, while Education was among the shortest at 31.9 hours.”
Do Longer Hours Improve Productivity? Not Really.
This is one of the most misunderstood relationships in business.
Countries with longer hours (e.g., Mexico) don’t always have higher productivity per hour than countries with shorter hours (e.g., Denmark).
Expert insight: After observing hundreds of teams, I’ve noticed a sharp drop in decision quality once people consistently cross 48–50 hours a week. Fatigue compounds faster than managers realize.
Longer hours don’t equal better results. Smarter systems do.
Legal Working Hours vs. Actual Time Worked
Most regions have legal caps:
- EU: 48-hour weekly maximum
- US: 40-hour standard
- India: 48 hours/week
- China: 44 hours/week
- Australia: 38 hours/week
Actual hours often deviate due to culture, workload, or weak enforcement.
Eurostat’s 2024 labour force survey shows a sharp difference in actual workloads: self-employed people with employees work an average of 46.7 hours per week, while employees average 36.6 hours — a gap of more than 10 hours weekly.
Emerging Working Hours Trends in 2025
1. Flexible and Part-Time Work Growing
More employees choosing 80% or part-time schedules.
2. 4-Day Workweek Experiments
Dozens of companies worldwide testing shorter weeks — and most report equal or better productivity.
3. Remote & Hybrid Reshaping Boundaries
Hours are no longer linear.
4. AI & Automation
Potential to reduce hours for some tasks while increasing expectations in knowledge work.
Expert Insight: One pattern I’ve seen repeatedly over the years: teams with control over their schedules consistently outperform those with rigid prescriptive hours.
How to Benchmark Your Company’s Working Hours
1. Collect Actual Working-Hours Data
Timesheets, time trackers, HRIS exports.
2. Compare Against Country & Industry Benchmarks
Use ILO/OECD datasets for weekly and annual benchmarks.
3. Break It Down by Team or Role
Spot pockets of overwork or underutilization.
4. Assess Risks
Compliance gaps, burnout potential, attrition triggers.
5. Redesign Schedules & Policies
Expert Insight: In my experience, teams rarely notice unhealthy hour patterns until they’re viewed at a department level — that’s where overwork and inefficiency hide.
Tracking & Optimizing Working Hours Ethically
Here’s the key: you want clarity, not surveillance.
Ethical ways to track hours include
- Transparent time tracking
- Automatic timesheets
- Productivity analytics
- Clear communication
What matters most
Don’t track to micromanage. Track to improve fairness, workload distribution, and well-being.
Key Takeaways — What 2025 Working Hours Tell Us
- Global working hours slowly decreasing, with exceptions.
- Overwork is still common in certain sectors and regions.
- Companies that use working-hours data strategically benefit in productivity and retention.
FAQs
36–42 hours/week (ILO).
Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica (OECD).
Denmark, Germany, Netherlands (OECD).
Yes — early pilots show no loss in productivity (4 Day Week Global).
Smarter workflows, ethical tracking, reduced context-switching, and better prioritization.
