Working week in different countries of the world. Working day and working hours in different countries of the world

Determination of working hours

Working time is the time during which an employee is required to perform his or her job duties. Determining the duration of working hours is necessary as a precondition for assessing the performance of workers labor responsibilities and protecting the employee’s right to rest. Labor legislation provides for three principles for determining working time: firstly, it is necessary to guarantee the employee’s right to rest and health protection; Secondly, work time must ensure that the work gets done; and thirdly, working hours should be reduced taking into account the level economic development countries.

Maximum working time

The maximum working hours in the PRC were provided for by the PRC Labor Law. In accordance with Article 36 of this law, normal working hours in the PRC are 8 hours per day and no more than 44 hours per week. This provision applies to workers and employees of all government bodies and institutions, enterprises and other entities entrepreneurial activity, including foreign companies and companies with foreign capital. A similar length of working time was provided for by the Regulations of the State Council of the People's Republic of China "On the Working Time of Workers", adopted in 1994.

In March 1995, the State Council of the People's Republic of China amended the Regulations on Working Hours of Workers, according to which the maximum working time in the People's Republic of China is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

This Decision has been applied since May 1, 1995 in relation to government bodies, various institutions and enterprises. If it was impossible to establish a 40-hour work week for workers, from May 1, 1995, enterprises and institutions received a deferment (institutions - until January 1, 1996; enterprises - until May 1, 1997).

That is, now in China the normal working hours are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Saturday and Sunday (or two other days of the week) are days off (Article 7 of the Regulations of the State Council of the People's Republic of China "On Workers' Working Hours").

Extension of working hours

By general rule In China, an eight-hour working day is used, but in some cases it is possible to extend the working day (involving workers in overtime work).

For example, in accordance with Article 41 of the Labor Law of the People's Republic of China, the employer has the right, in agreement with the trade union body and the workforce, to increase daily working hours by one hour if there is a need to extend working hours due to the nature of the employer's activities. In extreme cases, the employer may increase daily working hours by three hours, subject to a guarantee of maintaining health status, and by no more than 36 hours per month.

This restriction does not apply to the need to extend working hours in connection with taking urgent measures in the event of an emergency. natural Disasters, accidents or other circumstances that threaten the life and health of workers and the safety of property, as well as in the event of taking measures to carry out urgent repairs in the event of problems with production equipment, communication and transportation lines, during social events(Article 42 of the PRC Labor Law).

Overtime work is paid in accordance with the PRC Labor Law and the Regulations on Payment wages" Overtime work on a working day is paid at the rate of 150% of regular wages; on rest days (if the rest day is not compensated) - 200% of the regular salary; during non-working hours holidays– 300% of regular salary.

The provisions on the maximum duration of weekly working hours apply to workers employed on a piece-rate basis. The working hours of such employees cannot exceed maximum amount working hours per week (40 hours).

Kazakhstan inherited a 40-hour work week from Soviet Union. True, the workload there was a little greater, and working time was distributed a little differently: they worked 6 days, 7 hours each, that is, 42 hours a week. The five-day work week was introduced in the 1960s and labor time was reduced to 41 hours a week, then to 40. This is how the 5/2 schedule, 8 hours a day, familiar to all residents of the modern CIS, appeared. Modern Kazakhstanis live and work according to this system. Moreover, few pay extra for the fact that employees have to stay late.

While Kazakhstan lives by these standards, part-time work and flexible work schedules are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. Countries are reducing working hours in different ways: either switching to a four-day week, or shortening the working day. And the record holders for reducing working hours in the world are European countries.

In Holland The shortest working week in the world is only 29 hours. Dutch specialists are used to working 4 days a week. Both working mothers and working fathers take 3 days off in a row. Everyone is guaranteed vacation and medical care. If the employee wants, he can reduce the number of working hours, while the wages will remain hourly. This is how the state takes care of the balance between personal life and work among its citizens.

In second place Denmark and 33 working hours per week. All Scandinavian countries have adopted flexible work schedules and 5 weeks of paid leave per year. It is easy for employers to fire and hire new candidates, but the employees themselves are protected by law. Companies are required to pay compensation after dismissal for two years.

Followed by Norway with the same indicator - 33 working hours. IN northern country parents are allowed to reduce the number of their own working hours, almost a year after the birth of a child, the young mother receives a full salary, and annual leave is at least 21 days. Partial days are normal in this country; it is customary to go home from work no later than 16:00.

The European selection is diluted Australia- It is customary to work there 34 hours a week. The government guarantees Australian workers social protection no worse than in Europe: even those who work part-time have the right to full vacation and weekend benefits.

Germans all over the world are considered to be workaholics, but in fact in Germany work no more than 35 hours a week. Moreover, the working day is structured in an unusual way for us: it is divided into 2 parts. First, the Germans work from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., then have a 3-4 hour lunch break, and in the evening the workers return to spend about three more hours at the workplace. Due to the financial crisis in the country, they prefer not to fire employees, but to reduce working hours. At the same time, the state is trying to compensate workers for lost wages.

In Ireland also work an average of 35 hours a week. Although in the late 80s the Irish worked 44 hours, that is, much more than other Europeans. There are two reasons for the trend: the desire of some specialists to switch to shorter working hours, and the undeveloped local market labor. To work hard and get enough, many have to leave for neighboring Great Britain.

The same 35 hours is the norm for the working week for Switzerland, but with completely different incomes. The average Swiss's working day begins at 8 am and lasts until 5:30 pm, with a long break for lunch with fondue and Swiss chocolate. In many areas, flexible working hours are considered the norm, when a person comes to work when he wants, but at the same time works the allotted time. A third of the working population switched to part-time work in order to spend more time with their families.

The 35-hour workweek in France is in its death throes: everything larger number companies are using labor reforms introduced in the country this year to circumvent the 35-hour requirement. This does not mean that the experiment was a failure, but it has probably outlived its usefulness.

Retreat from statism

Francois Hollande is a socialist and would not like to go down in history as the president under whom the popular 35-hour rule, introduced in 2000 by another socialist government, was abolished. Last year, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker, talked about extending the working week but was quickly quashed. His subsequent legislative efforts to make France's labor market more flexible avoided this issue.

Even Hollande appears to acknowledge that the French economy cannot afford a short working week and has allowed companies to temporarily increase working hours to prevent job losses. Daimler, the German automaker, is using the opportunity to eliminate the 35-hour work week at the French plant where it makes small Smart cars.

Allowing employers and trade unions to determine the length of the workweek is more democratic and less disruptive than setting it by law. This is how it works in Germany, where the maximum working week is 48 hours, with the possibility of a temporary extension to 60. At the same time, metallurgists successfully bargained and received a 35-hour working week. So there is nothing wrong with France moving away from its usual statism by giving companies and unions more bargaining power.

Indeed, French white-collar workers have never worked according to a weekly rate: their contracts are based on a fixed number of working days, not hours. Only about a third of French workers actually adhere to the 35-hour work week. IN French system There may be a lot of annoying bureaucracy, but there is also a lot of flexibility.

This explains why, according to Eurostat, fully employed French people actually work 40.5 hours a week. This is an hour less than Germans or European Union citizens on average, but an hour longer than Norwegians.

In introducing a 35-hour workweek, legislators argued that it would distribute work more evenly and lower the unemployment rate. Unemployment in France fell by 15% in 2000-2001, but scientists cannot agree whether this was caused by changes in legislation or economic growth. The actual number of hours worked at full-time employment fell briefly, but then returned to its previous level. Unemployment, meanwhile, returned as economic conditions worsened.

Economic justification

So one might wonder why France should follow a rule that has no discernible economic effect and can be circumvented anyway.

The political response is that French voters consistently support a 35-hour work week. After the government recognized that the law could have a negative impact on the economy, it preferred to have unions negotiate working hours with employers rather than risk repealing the law.

The business case relates to workload adjustments that were made after the 35-hour workweek law came into effect. A third of workers - mostly white-collar workers whose working hours are not regulated by law - reported increased workload and stress. France is still one of the most productive economies in the world. It is ahead of Germany, Great Britain and most others European countries. But there is probably no longer a need to maintain a 35-hour workweek. It helped low-income women in France spend more time with their families, and may have at one point helped reduce unemployment. However, the country failed to create a universal social norm, as durable as a five-day, 40-hour workweek.

However, there is no reason to rush to cancel it. It is worth giving up the 35-hour workweek gradually, since it will be less painful and will not have a significant impact on the rate of economic growth.

Many people complain that they spend their whole lives at work. But we don’t even work 10 hours a day, like the people of China

Which countries have the shortest working week? Photo: Pinterest

On this day in 1919, an 8-hour working day was introduced in Holland. And despite the fact that the residents post-Soviet space(for example, Ukraine) continue to work 8 hours a day, in some countries a reduced schedule is the norm.

Hardworking Europe?

The European Parliament has set a maximum working time of 48 hours per week. All overtime hours are taken into account here. Some countries have also introduced their own restrictions. For example, Finland believes that its residents need to work at least 32 hours, but not more than 40 hours. Most often, Europeans work about 40 hours a week.

Average working hours in Europe (per week)

IN the Netherlands The standard working week is 38 hours. However, depending on the employer, employees may spend between 36 and 40 hours at the workplace.

The work week lasts 35 hours Ireland And France. However, in reality, employees spend more time at work. In the 90s of the last century, the introduction of a 35-hour week in France caused a storm of indignation. Recently the government returned to the issue of increasing the number of working hours, after which a series of strikes and demonstrations followed.

Residents Denmark work 7 hours 21 minutes a day. The average working week of 37.5 hours is one of the lowest in Europe. But at the same time, a Dane earns about 37.6 euros per hour, which is 30% more than the EU average.

Many people support the idea of ​​a 21-hour work week. Photo: Business Insider

Germans are considered workaholics all over the world. But the work week Germany lasts no more than 38 hours. At the same time, among German companies it is common practice to reduce the working hours in the event of an emergency. financial problems instead of firing employees. Residents also work no more than 39 hours a week Norway.

The most hardworking people in Europe, as it turns out, are workers in Great Britain, Greece And Portugal. The British, working 43.7 hours a week, very often stay late at work. The Portuguese work 8 hours 48 minutes a day, an average of 48 hours a week. But at the same time, experts note that not all this time people are engaged in their work responsibilities. The European “hard workers” also include residents of Greece - their working week lasts 43.7 hours. However, this cannot be said based on the state of the economy in the country...

Hardworking Asia!

In Asia, people work much more. Average working day in China lasts 10 hours, while working days are six days. This results in 60 working hours per week. The Chinese have 20 minutes for lunch and 10 days a year for vacation.

Workers in China. Photo taken from Twitter

IN Japan a standard work contract provides for up to 40 working hours per week. However, we have all heard about the importance of promotion career ladder for the Japanese. And this often depends on the amount of time a person spends at his workplace. Purposeful residents of Japan often stay late at the office in the evenings and come there on Saturday. Therefore, in some cases the work week reaches 50 hours.

IN Thailand And India also six days, most workers work up to 48 hours a week. IN government institutions, and also in the offices of Western companies there is a 40-hour working week.

How is it optimal?

Several years ago, in an interview, one of richest people planet, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim said that people should work no more than 3 days a week. However, the working day should last 11 hours, and people should retire at age 70 or even later.

Carlos Slim believes that it would be optimal to work 3 days a week, but at the same time 11 hours a day. Photo: siapress.ru

There are also many supporters of a 4-day work week. This schedule will be most convenient for the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964), experts say. This way they can take more care of their parents or grandchildren.

There are also those who support the idea of ​​a 21-hour work week. According to them, such an approach will solve a number of problems: unemployment, excessive consumption, high levels of carbon emissions and even inequality. A report from the UK's New Economics Foundation says a shorter working week will help break the vicious cycle. modern life when everyone lives to work, works to earn, and earns to consume more.

How long do you think the working week should last? Share in the comments!

Residents of the highly developed countries of the East - South Korea and Japan - are recognized as the biggest workaholics on Earth. And this is not surprising: in order to raise the economy to such a high level and maintain the title of the most technologically developed countries in the world, you need to work hard. Working week in Japan and South Korea lasts on average 50-55 hours per week. And given the sometimes enormous distances that residents of these countries travel to get to work, it turns out that they spend from early morning until late evening at work or on the road. It is not surprising that residents of these countries have such high rates of workplace mortality, even at a fairly young age.

American and Chinese employees lag slightly behind their counterparts in Japan and South Korea. Corporate culture, work for results and the habit of staying in the office until late are characteristic of workers in the USA and China. Working hours here are determined by a 40-hour work week, but these hours rarely accommodate all the tasks that a worker is forced to perform in conditions of enormous competition and management pressure. Therefore, the average working week in these countries stretches to 46 hours.

In countries of Eastern Europe Delays at work are also common in Russia. And unlike processing in the United States, here it is rare that an employer will pay an employee overtime. Even when the working day is forced to be shortened during a period of economic instability, the employer is in no hurry to fulfill employment contract, forcing employees to stay on the job for up to 42-45 hours a week.

Freedom from office slavery

Residents enjoy the greatest freedom at work Western Europe. Employers in France and Italy do not want to keep workers in the office, because for this they will have to pay huge compensation: residents European Union They know their rights well and are ready to defend them. In addition, working hours in EU countries are constantly decreasing. Offices are rarely open after 17.00, and shops - after 20.00. Even service workers in supermarkets and many cafes have a rest on weekends. In France, office workers may only have a 4-day work week - from Monday to Thursday, providing long weekends that can be spent with the whole family, because school classes are also reduced.

On average, employees in France and Italy work about 35 hours a week; residents of England have to work a little more - about 39 hours a week. Such innovations appeared after the economic crisis, but Europeans are in no hurry to change the length of working hours.

Sources:

• The most prosperous countries in 2013

The concept " the developed countries“must be distinguished from the concept of “rich countries”. If the richest countries today are the states that feed their treasury from gas and oil sources, then the most developed countries are the states with high level education, thoughtful social policy, growing economic indicators.

New time - new ratings

In 2011, within the framework of the GSAM investment banking project, studies of the economies of different countries were carried out. After analyzing a variety of indicators, members of the research team came to the following conclusion: the usual division of countries into states with developed and developing economies is outdated.

GSAM group leader Jim O'Neill said it was time to offer the world new model, in which the leading places will be occupied by states demonstrating a stable increase in GDP. According to this rating, the most developed economy in the world is that of China, demonstrating a 15% increase in GDP annually. Following China are Japan, France, Germany, Brazil, Great Britain and Italy.

"Big Seven"

However, most researchers agree that it is necessary to apply the classical approach to the analysis of macroeconomic indicators. There is a “Big Seven” of states that are not yet willing to give up their leadership positions. They have achieved the best indicators in terms of economic development, technology, production, and science. The industry of Canada, the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Germany, and the UK produces 80% of the world's output, and this must be taken into account.

Many of us are accustomed to considering the United States the most developed country in the world. This is not surprising: the state has maintained its position for more than a hundred years. However, in Lately The US economy has suffered greatly. Economic crisis and steady GDP growth developing countries led to the fact that the United States began to lose ground. By 2011, the United States national debt was $15.33 trillion. Despite these indicators, the United States is considered a leader in terms of innovative development technologies.

Ranking by income per capita

The Netherlands is one of the most developed countries on the planet in terms of social policy and per capita income. The state has experienced several periods of recession in recent decades, but the Dutch economy is currently experiencing stable growth. Today the country occupies a leading position in ratings that take into account the level of development of energy infrastructure and network technologies. The Netherlands produces high-quality equipment for telecommunications systems and other purposes.

In Qatar, no one is in a hurry. And why rush: the country is considered the richest in the world, thanks to the presence of rich gas and oil deposits. The state ranks 3rd in the world in gas fields, 6th in gas exports, 21st in exports of petroleum products. A beautiful, luxurious country whose population knows nothing about unemployment.

Sources:

• The richest countries in the world
• The most developed countries in the world
• Netherlands Photos

So that your job search doesn’t take too long long time, this matter should be taken with complete seriousness. You need to search for a job effectively. Only then will it be possible to do this in the shortest possible time.

Many people are looking for work in completely the wrong way. They post their resume and wait for the employer to call them. This is, of course, correct, but here you should also add a search for vacancies of interest to which you can send your resume.

However, sometimes this is not enough to quickly find a job. Therefore, you should send your resume to organizations that are not looking for employees. The fact is that many organizations do not advertise vacancies, but rather review the resumes of potential employees in the “looking for work” section.

To quickly find desired job, you need to attend an interview. The more interviews you have, the greater the likelihood of getting the desired position. But sometimes the problem is getting to a large number of interviews. To do this, you need to send your resume to at least one hundred organizations. More is possible. IN in this case, the bigger, the better.

Particular attention should be paid to the resume. It must be written competently and intelligibly. Many people do not write about their skills, abilities, strengths of character and hobbies on their resume. Simply because they are embarrassed. But in vain. A resume is the only way for an employer to find a suitable employee, and sometimes personal qualities are key. For many employers, this is much more important than work experience and seniority.

Find a job quickly after leaving previous place work is very important. After all, what longer person sitting without work, the less you want to work.