KOF study proves: Mr. and Mrs. Swiss work less
A recent KOF study by ETH Zurich shows that the length of working life in Switzerland has fallen by a third since 1950. This trend is evidence of the strong increase in prosperity.
The KOF study by ETH Zurich's economic research unit shows a "massive decline in working hours," according to study author Michael Siebenthaler: "It documents the impressive increase in prosperity in our society," because the Swiss would like to see themselves as hardworking and industrious. But the cliché is true the longer, the less.
Currently, an employed person works an average of around 1562 hours per year. In 1950, by contrast, people were still working 2,400 hours (see chart). They were content with two weeks of vacation, while today we allow ourselves an average of 5.2 weeks. There were only 5 public holidays; today there are 9.5. In addition, the six-day week was common, with only one in seven employees enjoying a Saturday off.
Working time: then and now
In the 1950s, the standard working week was 49 hours, and in the hospitality industry 55 hours was the norm. Today, the weekly target is met after less than 42 hours. At the same time, fewer and fewer people are working full-time: among women, the figure is just 41%. Among men, too, this figure has fallen to 83%. What's more, statisticians also consider anyone who has half a day off per week to be fully employed.
National differences
How strictly do people work in Switzerland compared to other countries? KOF expert Siegenthaler came across some surprising findings in his study. In many places in the world, the number of hours worked is significantly higher: In the USA, it's 1770 hours per year. The South Koreans slave away for their prosperity for as many as 2213 hours - the last time Switzerland worked that many hours was in 1966.
France has 35h week
Even compared to the French, who are not considered particularly diligent in this country, the lead of Swiss employees is only 90 hours per year - which corresponds to less than 30 minutes per working day. It is true that the French have a low statutory working time of only 35 hours. On the other hand, this standard is adhered to much more frequently: The part-time rate is only about half as high as in Switzerland, where it reaches 37%.
"We see the preference for more free time internationally - we are no exception in this respect," says Siegenthaler. So if people here hardly work longer hours than the French, the question arises: Couldn't Switzerland have introduced a 35-hour week just as well? Rudolf Minsch, chief economist of the Economiesuisse business association, answers in the negative, saying that one of Switzerland's main advantages is that a larger proportion of the population has a job.
In France, on the other hand, the rigid rules have forced many people out of the labor market, especially the socially weaker ones. "The example of France illustrates that rigid regulations are very harmful for the labor market," Minsch stressed in an NZZ text ("Von wegen fleissige Schweizer," NZZAS, July 8, 2017). "In our country, companies retain their flexibility - and yet employees benefit from decreasing working hours."
