1 in 10 workers in Europe works overtime. In Albania, the number of workers who spend extra hours in the office and at work is higher, due to the high number of self-employed people as well as weekend work.

In Europe, an average of 7% of the workforce worked overtime throughout the year. The latest Eurostat data show that individuals who work over 49 hours per week have decreased by 0.4 percentage points from last year.

The average of those who work more than they should in the union has not changed much. Greece continues to remain the country in the European Union where about 13% of the workforce spends extra hours in offices and at work, followed by Cyprus where the percentage is 10.4% and France with 10%.

Greece turns out to be one of the European countries with the highest unemployment rate, and the additional hours of employees seem to refer to the replacement of the lack of labor in the country, where employees work more hours.

On the other hand, Bulgaria recorded the lowest percentage in the region, with 0.4%, while Lithuania and Latvia recorded 1.1% respectively.

Long additional hours at work are mainly related to managerial professions or the self-employed, who, according to the data, are the ones most inclined to stay at work outside official hours. In a higher percentage of 29.3%, the self-employed in Europe work more compared to the employed, who only 3.6% stay longer at work.

The professions with the longest working hours are activities related to agriculture, forestry and fishing.

As for Albania, a new report published by the European Commission on working conditions has revealed that Albanian workers have the longest working hours in Europe, with up to 50 hours of work per week.

In Albania, long working hours are mainly related to weekend work and the high level of self-employment. Albania has the highest self-employed record in the region, with a rate of 36%.