It is to be noted that in India, government offices work five days a week, and the norm is to work only 7.5 to 8 hours per day, although as per requirement, some employees and officers work more hours than this. On the other hand, private institutions also have a rule of five-day and six-day week, but have to work an average of 9 hours a day. Some companies require even more work.
When NDTV searched for work-related data, it landed on the International Labor Organization (ILO) website, where it was found that as of April this year, India was ranked seventh in the world among the countries with the most work per week. And importantly, there is no country in the top 20 developed countries in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) except China.
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UAE employees work the most
The country with the highest number of working hours per week in the world, at 52.6 hours, is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where 46 percent of employees work 49 hours or more per week. Gambia comes in second with an average of 50.8 hours worked per week, and 26 percent of employees work 49 or more hours per week. Bhutan ranks third among countries with the highest working hours per week, with an average of 50.7 hours per week, and 54 percent of Bhutanese employees work 49 or more hours per week. Lesotho is fourth on the list, with 36 percent of workers working 49 hours or more per week, compared to the country’s average of 49.8 hours per week.
Indians work 47.7 hours per week
Congo ranks fifth on the list of people working the longest hours per week, with an average of 48.6 hours per week, and 46 percent of Congolese workers work 49 hours or more. Qatar is sixth on the list, where people work an average of 48 hours per week, but only 29 percent of Qataris work 49 hours or more. India ranks seventh on the list, with an average of 47.7 hours worked per week, but the ILO also does not have data on what percentage of Indians work 49 hours or more. On the same list, Mauritius is in eighth place, where people work an average of 47.5 hours per week and about 47 percent of workers are engaged in work for 49 hours or more.
Bangladesh and Pakistan are at 10th and 11th positions
Globally, Liberia ranks ninth on the list of people working the longest hours, with 47.2 hours worked per week and 28 percent of workers working more than 49 hours. Our neighboring country Bangladesh is at the 10th place on the list, where people work 46.9 hours per week, but half of the workers i.e. 50 percent of Bangladeshi workers are engaged in work for 49 hours or more per week. India’s neighbor Pakistan also ranks 11th, where its workers work 46.7 hours per week, while 42 percent of the Pakistani workforce works 49 hours or more. Lebanon ranks 12th on the same list, with an average of 46.7 hours worked per week, and 39 percent of Lebanese workers working 49 hours.
Average work in developed countries is lower
Surprisingly, in this list of 163 countries, developed countries like Britain (UK), United States of America (USA) and Canada are at the bottom, while China is ranked 16th. The average working time in China is 46.1 hours per week, but even for China, the ILO does not have data on employees working 49 hours or more. Additionally, the USA, ranked 115th, works an average of just 36.4 hours per week, and only 14% of employees work 49 hours or more. The UK ranks 121st on the same list, with residents working 35.9 hours per week and 11 percent of employees working 49 hours or more. On the list, Canada ranks 151, with an average of just 32.1 hours worked per week, while 11 percent of the Canadian workforce works 49 hours or more per week.