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The World's Hardest-Working Countries


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Greece and Italy are also near the top, at No.s 2 and 8, respectively, because of their large number of self-employed citizens. Mexico comes in at No. 7 for the same reason, along with the number of people who work in what Marianna calls "informal employment." According to the International Labor Organization, less than half of the world's employed people enjoy the security that comes with a regular salary.

Another reason for the difference is government policies and, in particular, taxation. The OECD found that an increase in marginal tax rates, or the tax owed on every extra dollar or euro earned, can negatively affect the average of hours worked. That effect is felt most typically by women, who are often the second earners in households.

And what of the diversion between Europe and the U.S., which once provoked the head of the OECD's Economic Department, Jorgen Elmeskov to ask if Europeans were "lazy" or Americans "crazy." It seems to be a changing picture.

Europeans used to work longer than their American counterparts in the 1970s, and it was only in the mid-1980s that the U.S. started to exceed them. Though working hours in both regions have eased back since the 1960s, they've fallen much more dramatically in Europe, by 23%, to 1,625 hours, today, compared with the 3% slide in American hours over the same time period. Some of the sharpest falls in working hours have been in Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg and France, according to the OECD.

As for the opposite extreme, South Korea, things are slowly moving toward the OECD norm after the Korean government introduced a five-day working week in 2004 for schools and companies with over 1,000 employees. But with the culture of hard work so deeply ingrained, change is slow. "A Korean's identity comes from his title at work," says Michael Breen, author of The Koreans, explaining that employees often refer to each other by titles such as "office manager Kim" or "accountant Park," even outside the workplace.

"This is an authoritarian corporate culture," he adds. "It's very bad form to leave the office before the boss does, so people will hang around doing nothing, and then when the boss leaves, they feel free to leave. ... Because of all of that, people don't have much of a life."

Yet amid the current economic downturn, personal spending in developing nations, and rapidly industrializing Asia in particular, is seeing industrious citizens loosen up a bit. The OECD confirmed that South Korea is gradually converging toward its standard practices. "I am personally trying to reduce my working time and I try to reduce my stress," says Lee. "Korea has this kind of bad culture where we always think about the boss’ opinion. But we are changing."