Europeans work one hour less per week than they did ten years ago - 35.9 hours on average in 2025, compared to 36.9 hours in 2015. The figure comes from the latest Eurostat analysis and points to a quiet but systemic shift in European working time. It is not a revolution - but it is no accident either.

Which countries work the most? Greece is at the top with 39.6 hours a week, followed by Bulgaria and Poland at 38.7 hours each, and Lithuania at 38.4. On the opposite end - the Netherlands at just 31.9 hours, followed by Denmark and Germany (33.9 each) and Austria (34). The gap between top and bottom is nearly 8 hours - basically a full shift.

By occupation: farmers and foresters work the longest (around 42 hours), while workers in elementary occupations clock in the shortest (31.8 hours). That is labour market reality - not what is "fair", but where the hours pile up and where they do not. The classic 40-hour week is becoming statistical history.

For the Balkans, and Macedonia in particular (not in the EU but with an economy that breathes through the northern market), this shift has a concrete meaning. German and Austrian partners now have employees doing 34 hours a week - while Macedonian subcontractors are expected to meet the same deadlines on 8-hour days (or 45+). The imbalance is not just cultural. It is also why the Balkans remain "cheap labour" - not only in wages but in the sheer volume of work expected.