What kind of hours are people working?

Think workers in the US work more hours than others in the world? Think again.

According to data aggregated in 2022 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), people in the US work fewer hours a week than those in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica. The average workweek in Colombia (and also in Guatemala & Botswana) is 46 hours a week.

In the US, the average is 37 hours per week, fewer hours than in Ghana (41), Uruguay (44) Micronesia (39), Panama (40), and Uganda (46). According to the ILO, the country where workers put in the most hours per week is Tanzania at 54 hours per week.

As a recruiter, I always take numbers like this with a grain of salt because the outcome absolutely depends upon exactly how the data is compiled and who is polled. But the averages are still interesting. We in the US tend to think we work harder than anyone else. That’s not necessarily the case!

However, in terms of a chill work/life balance, the Netherlands definitely has us beat, with an average workweek of 30 hours.

#worklifebalance #career #hours #workculture