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Spain - Longest working hours in Europe

17 July 2009

According to a recent research report by the Adecco Foundation in collaboration with the Spanish Association for the Rationalisation of Working Hours (ARHOE) and recruitment agency Psicotec, Spaniards work 3.8% more hours per annum than the European average.

The research was carried out amongst 80 companies across Spain. 50% of companies surveyed have introduced flexible working hours in order to improve personnel satisfaction and increase productivity.


57% of companies interviewed recognise the practice of extending working hours beyond what was agreed in the contract. This is a particularly common practice in companies with non-Spanish ownership.

The informal extension of working hours is almost normal amongst top and middle management and decreases with level of hierarchy. 15% of top managers extend their working hours by 35% whilst only 6% of middle managers extend their working hours by the same amount of time.

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