Analysis from a survey on working conditions shows that working hours of more than 45 hours per week are common in Austria. Long working hours can heighten stress levels and have a negative effect on achieving a work-life balance.
New analysis of a regular working conditions survey (Arbeitsklima-Index) shows that 22% of full-time employees in Austria work more than 45 hours per week. Another 21% work more than 40 hours per week. As in other countries, long working hours in Austria are heavily gender biased: while 49% of male full-time employees work longer than 40 hours per week, the same is true for 33% of female full-time workers.
Highly qualified employees tend to work longer than less skilled workers. Among employees with a university degree, 27% work longer than 45 hours and another 19% longer than 40 hours per week. Just over 20% of employees with secondary school diplomas or apprenticeships work more than 45 hours, and a further 20% work more than 40. For employees with primary school diplomas, the respective percentages are slightly more than 10%.
The connection between qualification and working time is particularly evident when examining working hours by sector. The retail sector stands out in this comparison because of its high percentage of low-skilled workers who tend to work shorter working hours - many of them part-time. This does not mean, however, that part-time retail workers do not work longer than the hours agreed in their contracts.
Mental stress
Another finding of the survey is that mental stress shows a strong upward trend when combined with longer working hours. The index for psychological stress is based on indicators such as ‘stress caused by time pressure’ and ‘emotionally taxing/stressful and exhausting work’. According to this index, stress levels are almost twice as high for employees working 40 hours per week compared with those working less than 10 hours; and they are 2.5 times higher for those working more than 45 hours. This means that these employees experience not only extended working hours but also sustained pressure to complete their tasks.
Work-life balance
The survey also shows the strong impact of longer working hours on work-life balance. Workers with shorter working hours are significantly more content with their capacity to balance working hours with personal needs. 62% of respondents working 20 or fewer hours per week mark their own ability to reconcile work and family life with an A. This compares with only 39% of those working between 35 and 40 hours who give themselves an A, and only 29% of those working more then 45 hours per week.
Further to a debate on working time in Germany, representatives of the Austrian Federation of Industry (IV) also pressed for the need to extend working hours and introduce greater flexibility, especially after EU enlargement in May 2004. The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) rejected such demands as a new form of wage dumping (ÖGB Presseaussendungen, July 2004). Austrian industry already enjoys a collectively agreed working week of 38.5 hours, which is significantly longer than in Germany. However, in reaction to the employers’ demands, some union representatives signalled a willingness to negotiate further steps to make working hours more flexible. As the Industry Federation noted, ‘a not insignificant side-effect of the discussion on extending working time and making it more flexible is that the request for reducing working time is no longer an issue’ (IV Positionen September 2004, p. 15).
Survey methodology
The Austrian ‘work climate’ survey (Arbeitsklima-Index) is based on a standardised survey of 1,800 respondents questioned in two interview stages over a six-month period. It is commissioned by the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labour and carried out by the Institute for Empirical Social Research (IFES) and the Institute for Social Research and Analysis (SORA).
Manfred Krenn / Christoph Hermann
