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Portugal ranks 9th among countries for weekend worker satisfaction

More than a quarter of Portuguese workers routinely work on weekends.

Weekend labor is routine for nearly a quarter of Portuguese workforce.
Weekend labor is routine for nearly a quarter of Portuguese workforce.

Portugal ranks 9th among countries for weekend worker satisfaction

Portugal Tops the EU in Weekend Work Among Employees, Self-Employed Close Behind

Looks like Portugal is breaking the weekend relaxation norm in the European Union, with a significant chunk of the workforce grinding through Saturdays and Sundays.

According to Eurostat's latest data, a whopping 22.4% of EU workers toil away on weekends. But 20% of Portuguese employees are taking the cake, and not in a delicious way. This figure is remarkably close to the EU average for employees, but be ready for your coffee breaks to become a thing of the past, as self-employed workers in Portugal consistently exceed expectations.

In Greece, the workweek extends onto weekends for 32.3% of salaried employees. But in neighboring Lithuania, this figure plummets to a mere 3%. Portugal, however, doesn't seem to be catching the Lithuanians' work-life balance vibe.

Things get even more spine-tingling when we delve into self-employed workers. Across the EU as a whole, the self-employed workforce tends to put in more hours on weekends than their employee counterparts. Here's the breakup: 46.7% of self-employed workers with employees, and 37.8% of self-employed workers without employees, trade their weekends for additional hours.

Fitting neatly into the pattern, 20% of Portuguese employees are there on Saturdays and Sundays, while around 45% of self-employed workers with employees follow suit, skating close to the EU averages of 19.2% and 46.7%, respectively.

Interestingly, we found further insights in the enrichment data. The specific numbers aren't available locally, but eu-wide employee hours average at 36.6 hours per week, while self-employed workers with employees clock in for an astounding 46.7 hours! So, it's clear: the self-employed crew is clocking more hours across Portugal and the EU compared to regular employees.

[1] Eurostat's data on weekend working hours

[2] European Union's average working hours for employees

[3] Eurostat's data on working hours for self-employed workers within different categories[3] Eurostat's data on self-employed workers without employees and their working hours

  1. Despite Portugal leading in weekend work among EU employees, it seems the country is lagging in terms of overall health and wellness, as constant work may impact the workplace-wellness of its workforce.
  2. With self-employed workers in Portugal consistently exceeding EU averages in weekend work and clocking higher hours than their employee counterparts, financial implications for health-and-wellness policies should be considered by both individual entrepreneurs and the Portuguese government.

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