ABSTRACT
Before examining different dynamics of changes in working hours, it is useful to review the overall level of working hours in the industrialized countries. This comparison can be made using one increasingly popular indicator for working hours, annual working hours, which reflects changes and variations in paid holidays and contractual status (ILO 2002a).1 As Figure 2.1 suggests, there are considerable variations in annual working hours among OECD countries, ranging from 2,500 hours in the Republic of Korea to 1,400 hours in Norway in 1999. Overall, relatively high working hours are found in the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, along with middle-and low-income OECD countries (e.g. the Czech Republic, Mexico and Iceland). By contrast, average working hours are significantly lower in Norway, Germany, France and Switzerland. In 1999, the average worker in Norway was working around 500 hours less (or 13 weeks or so less on a 40-hour workweek basis) than their counterparts in the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
