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Most of us associate working hard with playing hard, but that’s not always the case. Additionally, most of us assume that the people in the US are the hardest working people in the world, but we aren’t. In fact, the US isn’t even one of the top 10 hardest working nations in the world. Before you wonder how our country doesn’t work that hard, understand that this doesn’t necessarily mean we aren’t successful or driven.
Many of the hardest working nations in the world have no choice but to work harder; they don’t have the money to pay additional employees so their employees have to work harder. They also don’t have the education and/or resources to make work easy. Read on to find out which 10 nations are the hardest working in the world.
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Slovak Republic
The people in the Slovak Republic work approximately 1786 hours per year. However, that doesn’t make these employees any more driven or more successful than the citizens of other countries. In fact, the people here have to work hard. They have no choice. The Slovak Republic is well-known for their lack of desire to hire full-time employees. They often hire temp workers to work long, hard hours for certain projects before letting them go. Additionally, Slovakian works do not have job security. They may work long weeks and many hours, but they are never sure when their job will end or when they will be fired in place of someone cheaper.
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Mexico
Mexico is a great example of how working hard and playing hard do not always go hand in hand. The people in Mexico are some of the poorest on this side of the world, but they work harder than most; in fact, they work 1866 hours a year on average. The reason Mexican workers work so much harder than others is that they have less education than many other nations. For this reason, they have to work harder since they can’t work smarter (please note this is a quote by Armando Chacon, a director at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, not one that mimics my own opinions, thoughts or beliefs).
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Turkey
Residents of Turkey work approximately 1877 hours per year. Luckily for them, based on their cost of living, the country’s minimum wage is the highest in the world. Until recently, Turkey had an oath that went, “I’m Turkish, I’m righteous, I’m hardworking.” This is certainly true of Turkish residents. The country has more than 30 billionaires and a very low unemployment rate everywhere but the eastern portion of the country.
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Estonia
Working more than 1879 hours on average, Estonia residents are some of the hardest working in the world. This is a country that values hard work and education. For that reason, students here are encouraged to work hard while they are in school not only to graduate with high marks but also to actually work while they are in school. Estonian residents are also big on volunteering. They spend a great deal of time doing so in addition to their paid work.
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Poland
The people of Poland work 1939 hours each year on average. Despite the fact that many Polish natives move to the UK to live and work at some point in their lives, the country remains one of the hardest working in the world. It’s another country that places a high value on education and good work ethic. Higher education is much easier to obtain in places like Poland than it is in the US as far as cost is concerned.
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Czech Republic
Their residents work approximately 1947 hours per year. What might be interesting to know is that the Czech word for hard work is robot – if that makes it easier to understand how people here work as many hours as they do. Despite being hard workers, the people in the Czech Republic were voted among the most negative in the world. It just goes to show that working hard doesn’t always mean people are happier or more successful.
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Hungary
The people in Hungary work an average of 1961 hours per year. Unfortunately, they are not paid well and the large majority (45 percent) of Hungarians do not actually work. Because the unemployment rate is so high, those who do work tend to work very hard. They want to keep their jobs by proving their value. This means the businesses in the nation can pay minimally and receive hard, dedicated work from those who have bills to pay.
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Russia
Russians work approximately 1976 hours per year as an average. During its communist years, the people of Russia learned to work hard. Though the country has improved greatly since those days, the legacy of hard work remains. This is the country with the most doctors and healthcare employees anywhere in the world. This information might make you question the fact that Russia’s overall health has been on a rapid decline since the Soviet Union was dissolved.
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Chile
The people of Chile make it a habit to work an average of 2068 hours each year. The working conditions here are actually very favorable. Those who work are able to legally do so up to 45 hours per week as long as they have more than 24 hours time off in the week. Working this amount of time is how residents make the most possible money. The longer hours a person works in Chile, the more money they can make per hour.
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South Korea
It might not come as a surprise that the people of South Korea work harder than any other people on the planet, averaging more than 2193 hours per year. The country created rules back in 2004 to regulate employment. This initiative was designed to create a 40 hour workweek with only five days, but it failed to launch. People here like to work and they enjoy what they do. They choose to work longer hours despite the fact they don’t have to.
(Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
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