The average German & Dutch worker puts 400 less hours a year than the average American
The average German and Dutch worker puts in fewer than 1,400 hours a year, compared with almost 1,800 for Americans.* . And yet, the Dutch economy has been very productive. Unemployment has been much lower than in the U.S., while the Netherlands has a positive trade balance and robust personal savings. Gallup Inc. ranks the Netherlands fifth in the world in life satisfaction (2010), behind only the Nordic countries (except Iceland) and well ahead of the U.S.** .
SOURCE FOR HOURS: OEDC.StatExtracts, "Average annual hours actually worked per worker," OECD, http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ANHRS (accessed Dec. 5, 2012) EXACT FOR AMERICANS: 1787 hrs (2011) EXACT FOR DUTCH: 1379 hrs (2011) EXACT FOR GERMANS: 1413 hrs (2011) . ALSO: OEDC Better Life Index, "Work-Life Balance," http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/work-life-balance/ (accessed Dec. 5, 2012) . SOURCE FOR LIFE SATISFACTION: John de Graaf & David K. Batker, "Americans work to much for their own good," Bloomberg, Nov. 3, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/americans-work-too-much-for-the...
[verified 4/17/14]