Recent controversy Narayana Murty once sparked a debate when he stated that young people in India must work 12-hour days, 6 days a week, to be successful. He further stressed the need for hard work and sacrifice for professional goals.
L&T Chairman A.M. Naik also joined the fray by claiming that Indians are lazy and require more effort to gain success. He opined that working for at least 12 hours a day can be productive.
Both comments evoked widespread outrage on social media, with most stating that such long hours of work result in burnout, negatively impacts work-life balance, and affects one’s well-being as a whole.
Do you work much and sleep little? Not alone. The most recent ILO statistics show that there are several countries where employees spend some of the time in the world working.
Here are the top 10 countries with the longest working hours:
1. Bhutan – 54.3 hours per week
Bhutan tops the list, with employees working 54.3 hours a week on the job. The male population works 55 hours a week, and the women work 53.5 hours a week on average.
2. Lesotho – 49.5 hours per week
Lesotho ranks second in the list, working 49.5 hours a week. The male population works for 51 hours a week on average, while women work an average of 47.6 hours.
3. Qatar – 48.2 hours per week
Qatar ranks third, with average hours of work per week standing at 48.2 hours. Both men and women work nearly equal hours.
4. Lebanon – 48 hours per week
Lebanon ranks fourth, with average hours of work per week being 48 hours. The hours of work for men stand at 51.2, and for women at 40.8 hours.
5. Liberia – 48 hours per week
Liberia is tied with Lebanon. Workers put in an average of 48 hours at work every week. Male and female differences are as follows: 49.6 hours by male workers and 46.2 hours by female workers.
6. The Republic of the Congo – ranks sixth where, on average workers put in 47.9 hours every week at work. More male workers compared to female workers account for the difference as follows: 48.3 hours by male workers, and 47.5 hours by female workers.
7. Jordan – 47 hours/week
Seventh position is held by Jordan. Employees work, on average, 47 hours per week. Men work, on average, 48.1 hours. Women work an average of 41.3 hours.
8. Pakistan – 46.6 hours/week
Brunei is followed by Pakistan. Employees, on average, work 46.6 hours per week. Men work 50.3 hours, whereas women work an average of 34.2 hours.
9. Brunei – 46.6 hours per week
Brunei is ranked the same as Pakistan in terms of working hours, with an average of 46.6 hours per week. The men have averaged 47.6 hours while women 45.3 hours.
10. India – 46 hours per week
India takes the last position in the top 10, with employees working an average of 46 hours per week. Men average 49.9 hours, while women average 36 hours.
These are averages, and the numbers vary with the industry, job, and employer. While long working hours are helpful for productivity and economic growth, they also have negative impacts on physical and mental health.
Sources
– International Labour Organization (ILO)
– World Bank
– OECD Better Life Index
