Who are the “work champions” in Europe

Greeks are the weekend work champions in Europe. Eurostat data shows that one in three Greek employees (32.3%) works seven days a week, or because their profession requires it, or because they need to meet their obligations.

Moreover, the employment facility in Greece, particularly the high percentage of self-employees, the country's economic dependence on tourism and therefore work in the weekend and holiday tour sectors, explains the situation in part.

Also, informal, flexible, and timeless employment plays an important role, writes Scan, broadcasts albinfo.ch.

In practice, long hours, in addition to bypassing legislation, result in the fatigue of citizens with no financial benefit, as wages remain low, with the average salary totaling 1,342 euros gross.

According to Eurostat official data, Greece ranks first in the EU in terms of employment on weekends and almost 10 points higher than the European average (22.4%).

Below Greece, also with high rates, are Italy (30.9%) and Cyprus (26.4%).

Throughout the European Union, according to Eurostat, work at the weekend is most common in agricultural, forestry and fishing professions (49.5%). This is followed by employees in services and sales (48.9%), which includes tourism, hotel and retail trade sectors.

In terms of the nature of employment, almost half of self-employees (46.7%) say they work on Saturday or Sunday.

Greece has one of the highest self-employment rates in the EU, with many stores, independent workers and farmers often working at the weekend, as they do not have specific times and depend directly on their personal presence for business survival. In 2022, 27.3% of those employed in Greece were self-employed, one of the highest in the EU, with the European average at 13.2%. /Periscope/