From the Paralia to the Office: How Greece Ended Up with Europe’s Longest Workdays

In Greece, the pace of life can look relaxed from the outside. Mornings on the paralia start with calm seas, cool air, and cafés filling with regulars. But behind the postcard image lies a reality backed by hard numbers: Greeks work longer hours than anyone else in the European Union.

According to Eurostat, the average Greek employee worked 39.8 hours per week in 2024, nearly four hours more than the EU average of 36.0. OECD data place Greece’s annual total at 1,897 hours in 2023, compared to 1,340 in Germany and 1,811 in the United States. The Netherlands had the EU’s shortest average workweek at 32.1 hours.

Despite these long hours, the government has moved to extend them further. Law 5053/2023, which took effect on July 1, 2024, allows certain sectors, primarily those operating around the clock, to adopt a six-day workweek. Employees can be asked to work up to 48 hours a week instead of the standard 40, either by adding two extra hours to some days or by working an additional day. Sixth-day pay is set at a 40 percent premium over the regular daily rate.

In mid-2025, the Ministry of Labor, led by Niki Kerameos, introduced a new bill that would permit employees to work up to 13 hours a day for the same employer, provided they consent. This builds on the 2023 change that allowed 13-hour days only by combining two jobs. The legislation also includes safeguards: workers must have at least 11 hours of rest between shifts, overtime remains capped at 150 hours annually, and the longer schedules are limited to specific industries.

The government argues these changes are necessary to address a severe labor shortage, particularly in tourism and hospitality, where more than 80,000 jobs remain unfilled. Officials say the reforms will also help bring undeclared second-job work into the official, taxed economy. Deputy Minister Anna Efthymiou has called the package “a modernization” that reflects today’s labor market.

Unions strongly disagree. The Greek General Confederation of Labour has called the 13-hour provision “a tombstone for the eight-hour day,” warning that it will normalize overwork in a country that already tops Europe in hours. On the day the six-day law passed, thousands protested in Athens, calling the reforms “barbaric” and predicting they would erode weekends and rest time.

Coverage in the German press has reflected both interest and caution. Outlets such as WirtschaftsWoche have reported on the reforms in the context of Europe-wide labor shortages, while other publications have highlighted concerns that the measures could weaken worker protections if applied elsewhere.

For the Greek-American community, the headlines are familiar. Many remember parents and grandparents working marathon shifts in diners or small shops, often six or seven days a week, to build a life in the United States. The work was a source of pride but it also took its toll. Seeing Greece still lead the EU in hours worked raises a question: is this resilience, or proof that the economic model has not changed enough?

Greece promotes itself as a land of leisure, yet much of its economy depends on people who have little time to enjoy it. Whether the 13-hour day will help businesses survive or deepen the strain on workers remains to be seen. What is certain is that no one in the EU works more hours than the Greeks, and the argument over whether that is a strength or a warning sign is far from over.