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Are Greeks the Hardest Working People in Europe? | The Fellows Program

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Are Greeks the Hardest Working People in Europe?

May 22, 2013 When the 2012 Pew Research study on the public opinion revealed that Greeks believed they were the hardest working people in Europe many read these news with awe. 60% of the Greek see themselves as the most hardworking people in Europe. The same survey showed that other nations in Europe seemed to rather think the Germans work the hardest and the Greeks the least. Of course, the bailouts and ongoing mutual bad press has exacerbated any previous stereotypes, but what are the figures telling us? Pew Global Attitudes Project 2012 results on stereotyping in Europe

As it turns out, compared to the EU average, the Greek working week is among the longest, only comparable to the hours Austrians put in every week. The Greek average working week lasts 42.2 hours compared to the European Union average of 37.3 hours. Greeks have also the highest number of people registering as selfemployed or new entrepreneurs. On the other hand, the perception of other European nations about Greece is influenced by other factors such as the employment rate. In Greece only 55.3% of the people in the work force actually work and this is significantly below the EU average of 68.5%. Estonia, for example, is on the other extremity of this indicator with a 72.1% employment rate. The difference is especially drastic in the female employment rate where in Estonia 69% of women of the working age are employed compared to only 45% in Greece. Furthermore, the labor productivity in Greece is still below the EU average. With continuously high unemployment, a shrinking economy, and a significant drop in actual incomes, the Greeks are becoming increasingly discouraged and critical. While in the US 77% of surveyed people believe that those who work hard succeed economically, the figure drops to 43% in Greece, and more than half of
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Are Greeks the Hardest Working People in Europe? | The Fellows Program

Greek respondents find that hard work is no guarantee of success. Indeed, individual efforts may not be sufficient at times of structural difficulty. As the World Bank Ease of Doing Business indicator shows, Greece is in need of systemic reforms. A large number of world economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 185. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to starting and operating of a local firm. The first 5 in 2012 were Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United States, and Denmark. Greece was at number 78 was behind Mongolia and the Bahamas. The ongoing economic and financial crisis in Europe has brought work back to the top of peoples priorities. Compared to 2008 survey, when the majority of respondents in 16 Member States stated their support for giving more importance to leisure, in 2012 there were only 10 countries left in this camp. Among these 10 countries are Estonia (63% saying more importance should be given to leisure than to work), Finland (61%) and Sweden (52%). The six countries which used to support the favorable view on leisure and where the majority now disagrees with this statement include among others crises-hit Spain, Cyprus, and Greece. Just for comparison 62% of Germans, 68% of Dutch, and 61% of French reject the idea of preferring leisure to work. Note: This article reflects the views of the author, and not the position of the European Commission. Maive Rute is a Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Since 2009, she has been director for biotechnologies, food, and agriculture research, DG Research and Innovation, at the European Commission. Sources: Eurostat statistics. Various. Accessed online. Pew Research Center. 2012. European Unity on the Rocks. Greeks and Germans at Polar Opposites. http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/05/29/european-unity-on-the-rocks/ World Bank. 2013. Doing Business. Measuring Business Regulations. http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings Share Share Share Share Subscribe Admin Login OpenScholar
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