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The "lazy" Greek workers who aren't so lazy



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Northern Europe has a tendency to talk about lazy workers in Southern Europe though I've always attributed that to jealousy. Who really doesn't want to live along the Mediterranean where you have the beautiful sun and sea?

Northern Europeans flock to these places for vacation so naturally, that's what they think of when they think of that area. Since it's highly unusual for any European to work during vacation, they somehow assume that because it's a vacation area, that's all people do is act like they are on vacation.

The Greeks should be asking the Germans why they work so little. The stereotype of lazy Greek workers is false according to this research.

And this cliché has permeated public opinion elsewhere. Greece is perceived as the least hard-working country in Europe by the British, the Germans, the Spanish, Poles and Czechs, according to a recent survey by Pew. Greeks who were surveyed pointed the finger at Italy as the laziest country.

Yet the picture is far from clear-cut. Greeks have less vacation time, and their retirement age is rising from the current average of 61 under the terms of the bailout.

The average Greek worker puts in 2,017 hours per year, more than any other European country. This is partly because there are more self-employed people, who tend to work longer hours, and fewer part-time employees to drag down the average.


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