Infographic: Does Working More Hours Lead To A Healthier Economy?

According to our infographic, countries that have a lower average when it comes to work hours per week also have a higher than average gross domestic product. It seems counterintuitive, however, it’s possible that working longer hours does not ultimately result in high-level productivity (on a national scale).

In the US, for example, the per capita GDP is basically equal to that of The Netherlands, even though Americans work an average of 6 hours more per week. And in Germany, the average number of hours in the work week is only 26! That is 8 hours less than the American’s 34 hours yet Germany’s GDP does not seem to suffer.

In countries that work the most hours per week, like Mexico, however (which works a comparatively whopping 43 hours per week (9 hours more than in the US) the GDP is 8 times less.

This, at the very least, points to the fact that the economic value of a culture is not directly connected to average hours worked and that extra toil does not lead to dividends when it comes to overall national value. Of course, there are reasons for there to be those that work longer hours for less, including levels of technological advancement, unskilled job availability, and many others.

But the general conclusion is if you develop a population that works less and more efficiently, it is better for the bottom line. In Sweden, many companies are actually actively reducing average work hours to 6 per day. Add to that the studies that say that average productivity goes down when more hours are added on and you’ll wonder why you have been pushing to take that extra hour in the office every night.

Infographic via GetCRM

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