Mapped: the countries where people work the hardest

Today is Work Your Proper Hours Day – an initiative aimed at highlighting the amount of unpaid overtime people do in the UK. According to the Worksmart website, “Long hours are not good for

us; they cause stress; they're bad for our health; they wreck relationships; they make caring for children or dependents more difficult; and tired, burnt-out staff are bad for

business.” But comparatively speaking, Britons are working far fewer hours per year than many other nationalities. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD), the UK is 26th in the world in terms of the number of hours we work on average in a year – 1,674. In fact, the top countries that work the longest hours might just surprise you. For

all that the United States is often cited as a country of workaholics, Americans work an average of 1,790 hours a year, putting them in 16th place. The top spot is reserved for Mexico, where

people work a whopping 2,246 hours annually. The rest of the top five is rounded out by Costa Rica (2,230 hours), South Korea (2,113 hours), Greece (2,042 hours) and Chile (1,988 hours).

Even countries that we sometimes perceive as being more relaxed work more hours than the UK. Spanish workers average 1,691 hours, putting them 24th, while Italians are in 21st place with an

average of 1,725 hours. Germans are often noted for their efficiency – perhaps that’s why they only need to work 1,371 hours per year, putting them in 38th place. Average working hours have

actually dropped in all the countries analysed by the OECD over the last 16 years. In 2000 British workers typically did 1,700 hours a year – now we spend approximately 326 hours fewer

earning our crust.