Spaniards work longer hours than Germans, study reveals

A report released Tuesday by the OECD gives the lie to a number of assumptions: for example, that Germans work longer hours than Spaniards.

The Paris-based organization's Society at a Glance survey shows that combining paid and unpaid tasks such as domestic chores, Spaniards devote an average of eight hours a day to work — the norm found by the OECD. By contrast, Germans spend only 7.35 hours between the kitchen and office or factory, which includes 3.75 hours of paid work (calculated as if there were a seven-day working week). That's almost an hour less than the average Spaniard, while in Portugal the figure is almost five hours.

Including paid and unpaid work, the Mexicans toil the most, devoting 10 hours a day, while the Belgians are the leisure kings of Europe, working only seven hours a day.

The value of unpaid work in terms of GDP is the highest in Portugal at 53 percent. The figure for Spain is 41 percent.