In Italy, almost one in ten workers between 20 and 64 years old worked on average at least 49 hours a week in 2023, one
percentage higher than the EU average (7.1%) and lower only than that of Greece, France and Cyprus. Practically the equivalent of an extra day a week, considering that the standard working hours in many cases fluctuate between 36 and 40 hours a week. This can be read in the Eurostat tables on workers from which it emerges that the data is linked to the consistency of self-employed work which is traditionally engaged in for a greater number of hours than the total average of workers (29.3% of self-employed workers overall work at least 49 hours).
In our country, employees who work at least 49 hours a week on average are 3.8% (3.6% in the EU), while self-employed workers with employees who work these hours are 46% of the total (41.7% the EU average). The self-employed without employees who work 49 hours a week are 27.4% (23.6% in the EU) while those engaged in
a job helping family activities lasting 49 hours is 20.1% (14% in the EU).
The percentage of “workaholic” rises if we look only at men with 12.9% of all employed people working at least 49 hours a week (9.9% in the EU). Among the self-employed with employees, the percentage exceeds 50% in Italy (50.8%) and stands at 46.3% in the EU.
Stefania Losito
