Mohanraj
The Organization for Economic
Cooperation & Developments (OECD) released its Society at a Glance
survey, which investigated the number of hours the population of its
member countries spent in both paid & unpaid work (defined as
working at home or doing volunteer work), as well as how much time
people spent in leisure activities. Lets take a look at which countries
are among the worlds busiest & hardest-working nations?
10. Slovenia
Average Hours Worked: 8.15
Slovenia
rounds out the top 10 in terms of average hours worked among the
population of OECD member states, possibly as a result of the fact that
Slovenians do 3 hours & 51 minutes of unpaid work each day, 24
minutes more than the OECD average. Slovenia also has the lowest income
inequality in OECD & the 9th lowest relative income poverty rate at 7.8% of its population. Slovenia registered a big fall in
infant mortality in the last generation & has the second lowest rate in the OECD of 2.1 per 1,000
live births, just after Luxembourg. But the country is rated in the highest 3rd of the OECD for perceived corruption & the lowest third for confidence in national institutions.
9. USA
Average Hours Worked: 8.16
According to the OECD the U.S. is only ranked 9th among the hardest working nations. However, at $31,000, the U.S. has the 2nd
highest average household income after taxes & benefits in the
OECD, after Luxembourg. But U.S. income is distributed relatively
unequally, with both the 4th highest
rate of income inequality & relative poverty (17.3% of people are
poor compared to an OECD average of 11.1%) in the OECD. People in the
U.S. have a life expectancy of 77.9 years, lower than the OECD average
of 79.3 years,
despite having the highest public & private spending on health at
16% of GDP, considerably higher than the OECD average of 9%.
8. New Zealand
Average Hours Worked: 8.18
New
Zealand may not be famed for its work ethic, but it actually ranks
quite high. Unpaid work in New Zealand accounts for 43% of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), the 3rd highest
in the OECD after Australia (46%) & Portugal (53%). Along with
Israel, Iceland & Turkey, New Zealand is one of only 4
OECD countries with
a fertility rate @2.14children per woman, sufficient to replace the population in the coming generation.
7. China
Average Hours Worked: 8.24
The
research also included non-OECD member countries such as China, India,
South Africa, & Brazil because all are enhanced engagement countries
which means OECD members have opted to forge a more structured &
coherent partnership with them. The research states that, at less than
an hour, both men & women spend very little time on unpaid work in
China, in comparison with other countries, particularly in terms of
cooking & cleaning. Meanwhile, at 12.29 births per 1,000 of the
population, China has one of the lowest
birth rates in the world, equal to France & the United Kingdom. The average
birth rate stands at 1.54 children per woman.
6. Austria
Average Hours Worked: 8.29
At nearly 8 1/2 hours of work per day, Austrians have the 6th highest total time spent working both paid & unpaid in the OECD. (The OECD average is 8 hours.) Austria also has the 5th lowest
unemployment rate
in the OECD at 4.8% far lower than the average OECD rate of 8.1%.
Austria has
low income inequality & poverty rates with around 7.2% of the
population on relatively low income or classed as being in poverty in
both cases..
5. Estonia
Average Hours Worked: 8.36
At 8 hours & 36 minutes, Estonians yes we did say Estonians have the 5th highest total
work time in the OECD, well over the OECD average of 8 hours & 4 minutes. At 3 hours & 52 minutes, Estonians do the 4th highest
unpaid work time
after Turkey, Mexico & Australia, & well above the OECD average
of 3 hours & 28 minutes. However, at 14.1%, Estonian unemployment
is also the third highest in the OECD, six percentage points above the
OECD average of 8.1 %..
4. Canada
Average Hours Worked: 8.37
Canadians have the 2nd
highest rate of positive experiences in the OECD after Iceland feeling
well-rested, being treated with respect, smiling, doing something
interesting, & experiencing enjoyment. At the same time, Canadians
have above OECD average negative experiences, such as pain, worry,
sadness, stress & depression. Canada has the 6th highest proportion of its population foreign-born in the OECD at 20%, nearly double the OECD average of 11.7 %..
3. Portugal
Average Hours Worked: 8.48
While
some people might think that the Portuguese live a relaxed
Mediterranean lifestyle, they in fact rank among some of the hardest
working in the world. Men do nearly 2 hours of unpaid work in Portugal,
compared to less than an hour in other OECD countries such as
Korea
& Japan. The amount of time devoted to unpaid work accounts for up
to
53% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the country, the highest
proportion of all OECD countries, compared to 19% of GDP in Korea.
Meanwhile, 60% of the Portuguese population spends time cooking &
cleaning, spending the 3rd largest amount of time on household chores at 110 minutes per day..
2. Japan
Average Hours Worked: 9
The 2nd
-hardest working nation among OECD member countries will probably come
as no surprise to anybody. Japans adherence to its work ethic is
legendary with company employees often competing to stay at work later
than their colleagues to achieve promotion in many corporations, where
company loyalty is demanded & where a job for life still means life.
Japanese people work an average 9 hour day while the unemployment at
5.3% is well below the OECD average of 8.1%..
1. Mexico
Average Hours Worked: 9.54
Recently,
Richard Hammond of the TV program Top Gear managed to upset the Mexican
Ambassador to the U.K. by suggesting that Mexicans were lazy, feckless,
flatulent [&] overweight. The OECDs research, however, may go some
way to ward redressing the balance by showing that the Mexican people
are in fact the hardest working in the world, working a total of nearly
10 hours on average every day. They also have the 2nd -highest level of income inequality & the highest level of relative poverty among OECD countries
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