The 24-hour economy not widespread

Some 74% of workers in the Netherlands usually work standard hours, while 15% normally work at weekends, 14% in the evening and 4% at night. Weekend work is frequently carried out by younger people. The sectors most associated with weekend work are: policing, nursing and elder care, hotels and restaurants, agriculture and retail. Overall, it appears that the 24-hour economy is not yet widespread in the Netherlands.

About 40% of all employed Americans work mainly in the evening or at night, on rotating shifts or at weekends, according to an article by Harriet Presser in Science magazine. The article looked at the reasons for the prevalence of non-standard schedules in the United States and predicted further growth in the near future. The underlying premise is that the move towards a 24-hour economy is significantly altering the nature and stability of family life.

Up to 1996 in the Netherlands, the law governing the hours of trading was the most restrictive in the European Union. In that year, the government decided that shops could be open from 6 am until 10 pm. Local government authorities were allowed to decide whether shops could open on Sundays. As a result of this change, churches in the Netherlands began a campaign against the 24-hour economy, claiming that it would damage the well-being of society. The initiative received both support and criticism at the time (NL9807189F).

Working time patterns

In 2000, 2002 and 2004, the TNO Work Situation Surveys (TNO Arbeidssituatie Survey (TAS)) interviewed a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (4,000 employees and self-employed people). The workers were asked to indicate, for each day of the week, whether they normally work in the morning, afternoon, evening and/or at night. On the basis of the data from 2002 and 2004 ( NL0601SR01 ), it may be concluded that 74% of employees normally work during or part of the standard working week - day time, Monday to Friday. About 15% normally work during a part of the weekend, 14% on one or more evenings, and 4% one or more nights.

Analysis over a longer period reveals that the actual working week has shortened from 48 hours in the 1950s to the present 33-34 hours. On the other hand, business hours in the Netherlands have gradually lengthened. Companies now open to staff and customers/clients for an average of 56 hours per week (Fouarge et al, 2001). Business hours are longest in health care and transport, and shortest in education, construction and manufacturing. Nevertheless, a Dutch study on trends in working patterns concluded that although ‘the edges of the working day’ have expanded in recent years, a 24-hour economy is not prevalent (Tijdens, 1998). Recent data from TNO concur that the 24-hour economy is not yet widespread in the Netherlands.

Working hours and overtime per week in the Netherlands, 2004 (%)

Source: TNO Work Situation Survey, 2004

Differences by sector, contract and age

In 2004, the average Dutch employee worked about 33 hours per week. This is relatively low in a European perspective. However, overtime work (paid and unpaid) is - at seven hours per week - quite common. The figure above illustrates that the longest hours are worked in the road transport sector, where employees work 47 hours per week and another 17 hours per week in overtime. Part-time work is common in the retail sector, nursing and elder care, post and telecommunications, and in hotels and restaurants.

Employees with permanent contracts and self-employed people usually work standard working hours. Non-standard working hours are typical among temporary agency and on-call workers

Weekend work is often carried out by younger people. As noted, about 15% of all Dutch workers normally work during the weekend. However, about a quarter of all workers in the 15-25 age group work during weekends. This percentage is much lower for older workers (see Table 1). The same age differences are found with respect to evening work. On the other hand, night work is mostly carried out by workers in the 36-45 age group.

Table 1: Weekend work, evening work and night work, by age and sex (% of all workers in the particular category)
Weekend work, evening work and night work, by age and sex (% of all workers in the particular category)

	Weekend		Evening		Night
	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women
15-25 years	24.7	26.7	18.2	15.1	2.1	2.8
26-35 years	15.7	12.4	17.0	11.4	5.7	2.9
36-45 years	15.1	8.5	16.2	9.4	8.2	3.9
46-55 years	13.0	12.0	13.8	9.4	5.1	1.9
56-64 years	14.1	12.1	11.1	8.9	3.3	0.4
Average	16.3	14.0	15.8	11.0	5.5	2.8

Source: TNO Work Situation Survey, 2002-2004

Table 2 identifies the industrial sectors in which weekend work is most common.

Table 2: Top 10 sectors working at weekends (% of all workers in the sector)
Top 10 sectors working at weekends (% of all workers in the sector)

Industrial sectors	Working during the day in weekends (%)
1. Policing
2. Nursing and elder care	36.0
3. Hotels and restaurants	29.4
4. Agriculture	28.8
5. Retail	28.1
6. Culture, sports and recreation	25.1
7. Post and telecommunications	20.2
8. Road transport	16.4
9. Hospitals	15.9
10 Car sales and repairs	14.2
Average for Netherlands	15.3

Source: TNO Work Situation Survey, 2002-2004

The sectors where people work most often at weekends are policing, nursing and elder care, and hotels and restaurants. Conversely, people seldom work at weekends in public services (specifically government departments), education, financial services and banking, and construction.

Thus, for most sectors in the Netherlands, the 24-hour economy is not an issue. Nevertheless, police officers, nurses, cooks, waiters, farmers and shop assistants do work in a 24-hour economy. It must be said, however, that this is not a new situation since it relates to the nature of the activities carried out in those sectors.

Peter G.W. Smulders, TNO Work and Employment, Hoofddorp

References

Fouarge, D. et al, Trendrapport Vraag naar arbeid 2000 , Tilburg, Organisatie voor Strategisch Arbeidsmarktonderzoek, 2001.

Presser , H.B., ‘Toward a 24-hour economy’, Science, Vol. 284. (5421), 1999, pp. 1778-1779.

Tijdens, K., Zeggenschap over arbeidstijden: de samenhang tussen bedrijfstijden, arbeidstijden en flexibilisering van de personeelsbezetting [Involvement in setting working hours: The relationship between company hours, working hours and the flexibilisation of staff], The Hague, Welboom, 1998.