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Are Greeks the Hardest Working People in Europe?

May 22, 2013

When the 2012 Pew Research study on the public opinion revealed that Greeks believed they were the

hardest working people in Europe many read these news with awe. 60% of the Greek see themselves as the

most hardworking people in Europe. The same survey showed that other nations in Europe seemed to rather

think the Germans work the hardest and the Greeks the least. Of course, the bailouts and ongoing mutual bad

press has exacerbated any previous stereotypes, but what are the figures telling us?

Pew Global Attitudes Project 2012 results on stereotyping in Europe

As it turns out, compared to the EU average, the Greek working week is among the longest, only comparable

to the hours Austrians put in every week. The Greek average working week lasts 42.2 hours compared to

the European Union average of 37.3 hours. Greeks have also the highest number of people registering as self-

employed or new entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, the perception of other European nations about Greece is influenced by other factors such

as the employment rate. In Greece only 55.3% of the people in the work force actually work and this is

significantly below the EU average of 68.5%. Estonia, for example, is on the other extremity of this indicator

with a 72.1% employment rate. The difference is especially drastic in the female employment rate where in

Estonia 69% of women of the working age are employed compared to only 45% in Greece. Furthermore, the

labor productivity in Greece is still below the EU average.

With continuously high unemployment, a shrinking economy, and a significant drop in actual incomes, the

Greeks are becoming increasingly discouraged and critical. While in the US 77% of surveyed people believe

that those who work hard succeed economically, the figure drops to 43% in Greece, and more than half of

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Greek respondents find that hard work is no guarantee of success.

Indeed, individual efforts may not be sufficient at times of structural difficulty. As the World Bank Ease of

Doing Business indicator shows, Greece is in need of systemic reforms. A large number of world economies

are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 185. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index

means the regulatory environment is more conducive to starting and operating of a local firm. The first 5 in

2012 were Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United States, and Denmark. Greece was at number

78 was behind Mongolia and the Bahamas.

The ongoing economic and financial crisis in Europe has brought work back to the top of peoples priorities.

Compared to 2008 survey, when the majority of respondents in 16 Member States stated their support for

giving more importance to leisure, in 2012 there were only 10 countries left in this camp. Among these 10

countries are Estonia (63% saying more importance should be given to leisure than to work), Finland (61%)

and Sweden (52%). The six countries which used to support the favorable view on leisure and where the

majority now disagrees with this statement include among others crises-hit Spain, Cyprus, and Greece. Just

for comparison 62% of Germans, 68% of Dutch, and 61% of French reject the idea of preferring leisure to

work.

Note: This article reflects the views of the author, and not the position of the European Commission.

Maive Rute is a Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Since 2009, she has been

director for biotechnologies, food, and agriculture research, DG Research and Innovation, at the

European Commission.

Sources:

Eurostat statistics. Various. Accessed online.

Pew Research Center. 2012.European Unity on the Rocks. Greeks and Germans at Polar Opposites.

http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/05/29/european-unity-on-the-rocks/

World Bank. 2013. Doing Business. Measuring Business

Regulations. http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings

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