Disparities in annual working hours by occupation

Source: Labour Force Survey 2003–2004, National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies ( Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques_, INSEE)_

There are also significant disparities in working time according to sector: the annual average working time is much higher in personal services (1,750 hours), real estate (1,740 hours), retail trade, maintenance and repairs, and transport (all 1,700 hours). In many of these services sectors – such as hotel and restaurants, and transport – the collective agreement on working time includes the concept of ‘equivalence hours’, which also takes into account the time at work considered as inactive. For example, when there is no client to serve, or when the lorry is getting loaded or unloaded, this time is also counted, although not in the same way as the rest of the working time.

As a result, managers in the hotel and restaurant sector are among those with the longest annual working time (2,190 hours) – working slightly more than hospital doctors, who work 2,180 hours.

Conversely, the shortest working times are found in education, social services and the public sector, as well as in large companies in the private sector.

Contrasting situation for men and women

For women, working time increases with age: women in their 40s work three hours more per week on average than those in their 20s. This may be explained by the fact that they no longer have maternity leave and small children to mind, and thus increase their working time.

The same trend is not observed for men, whose working time is independent of their age and family situation: a man – single or in a couple, without children – does not work more than a man in a couple with children. Only men raising their children alone work 50 hours per year less than their counterparts. However, this situation is very rare and corresponds to only 4% of workers.

Impact of shift work on working time

Shift workers benefit from shorter working times, as a result of the time off in lieu that they are allowed. In general, an irregular working time organisation coincides with a shorter annual working time. However, this is not the case for many night workers (working from 00.00 to 05.00); for example, workers in bakeries, road transport, parcel services and in factories combine night work with long working times. Although the annual legal working time for factory workers is 1,470 hours, those working nights actually do 60 hours per year more than their day-time counterparts.

Commentary

These differing situations regarding working time largely reflect the respective influence of the social partners in the sector. Shorter working times are found in sectors where workers traditionally have significant bargaining power, such as the public sector and in large private companies. Conversely, long working time is most frequent in areas where the collective bargaining of workers is weak and the rate of unionisation close to zero; examples of such situations include small companies and those working in personal services.

The specific circumstance of managers working long hours may be partially related to the law on working time which introduced the 35-hour week. The law specifies that, for this occupational level, the working time is not counted in hours but in days, with no limit – and no reporting – on the length of the working day. As a result, an increasing proportion of male managers leave their work after 19.00, while their female counterparts resist this trend because of its strong impact on their private life. However, this contributes to reinforcing the ‘glass ceiling’, preventing many women from advancing to senior management level.

Source

Beffy, M., ‘Les salariés à temps complet travaillent 1 650 heures dans l’année’ (83Kb PDF) [Full-time employees work 1,650 hours per year], INSEE Première, No. 1066, February 2006.

Anne-Marie Nicot, ANACT