Spain Seeks To Shorten Its Long Work Day

MADRID, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Dec, 2016 ) - Spain wants to put an end to its distinctive and gruelling work day which hurts productivity -- and it may move the country's clocks back by one hour to the same time zone as London's to do so.

Labour Minister Fatima Banez vowed Monday to seek a "national pact" to bring Spain's working day into line with the rest of Europe and make it easier to achieve a work-life balance. "We want our workdays to finish at six o'clock and to achieve this we will work towards striking a deal with representatives from both companies and trade unions," she told parliament.

While working hours in Spain vary greatly, a typical day runs from 9 am until 7 pm or 8 pm -- or even later -- with a late afternoon lunch break lasting up to two hours.

The long midday break was used in the past by many Spaniards to go home for lunch followed by a short nap, or siesta.

But surveys suggest that, at least in cities, people live so far from their offices that few have the time to head home for a snooze. This schedule means many Spanish workers return from lunch at around 5 pm -- when their counterparts in Germany and other northern European countries are already preparing to go home for the day.