Spain’s working week remains largely unchanged since the 1980s, a new EU study reveals. Despite technological advancements and a push for shorter hours, full-time employees still work over 40 hours a week. However, these jobs are often less secure and lower quality compared to previous decades.
Spain is on the brink of new legislation to reduce the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours within two years. Recent discussions between the government, unions, and employers have led to this proposal, but the plan is still under negotiation and has not been finalised. Currently, Eurostat data shows that the average working week in Spain stands at 37.6 hours. Yet, a recent European Commission study found that this apparent reduction is largely driven by an increase in part-time jobs.
Rise of part-time work masks true picture
Researchers at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) highlight that while the average working week seems shorter, the real story lies in the growth of part-time employment, which began in the 1990s. Many workers, especially women, are opting for part-time roles to balance work and family life. Official statistics show that 21.6% of employed women work part-time, compared to just 6.6% of men.
Precarious jobs and gender disparities
The rise in part-time work is closely linked to job precariousness in Spain, particularly in the service and tourism sectors. The weakening of the industrial sector, where full-time work was the norm, also contributed to the illusion of a shorter average work week. When excluding part-time jobs, the average full-time working week in the private sector still exceeds 40 hours.
Public sector shifts to shorter hours
The public sector, however, tells a different story. In recent years, working hours for public employees have been reduced twice, down to 35 hours by 2023. This trend has pulled down the overall average for Spain, contrasting sharply with longer hours in the private sector.
Unpaid overtime keeps hours high
In private industry and services, unpaid overtime remains widespread. The JRC study found that in the last quarter of 2023, Spanish workers clocked 6.34 million overtime hours, with 2.47 million of those hours unpaid. If all these extra hours were factored in, the average workweek would jump above 41 hours, surpassing countries like Germany and Denmark.
Highly qualified workers face longest hours
Sergio Torrejón, co-author of the study, observed that highly qualified professionals tend to work longer hours, often driven by career expectations and cultural factors. These workers organise their time around targets rather than fixed hours, leading to extended working days. By contrast, less skilled workers have seen their hours decrease over recent decades. On X he wrote: “From the late 19th century until the 1980s, regular workers (those working full-time) experienced significant and continuous reductions in working hours. Then, a clear shift occurred, and today full-timers work about the same as they did in the 1980s (around 40 hours per week).”
Worktime reductions (mainly the 4-day week) are a hot topic in public debate 🔥
Do we actually work more or less than in the past? Which segments of the workforce work shorter and longer hours? What are the main diffs across countries in this regard? 👉https://t.co/8gUADWtEyk pic.twitter.com/8SYlQbKZHg
— Sergio Torrejón (@torres__an) November 5, 2024
The impact of undeclared work
Another significant factor affecting the true working hours in Spain is the prevalence of undeclared labour that operates outside the legal and regulatory frameworks. According to a study from the European Union, 8,8% of the work in Spain is undeclared. This type of work is particularly common in the tourism and construction sectors, where jobs are often seasonal, and the pressure to keep labour costs low is high. Workers in these informal roles frequently put in long hours without contracts, benefits, or job security, which skews the real picture of Spain’s workforce.
Undeclared work adds to the strain on many workers, who end up working significantly more than officially recorded. This informal labour also contributes to the precariousness of employment in Spain, as those engaged in undeclared jobs often have no legal recourse if they face unfair treatment, wage theft, or sudden termination. The effect of this undeclared work, therefore, further complicates the narrative of working hours in Spain, pushing many towards longer, less secure employment situations.