How much work is done in Switzerland

According to the FSO's Activity Volume Statistics (AVOL), the total number of hours worked by all employed persons in Switzerland increased by 1.3% in 2022 compared to the previous year, returning to pre-Covid 19 pandemic levels (+0.2% between 2019 and 2022).
The increase in the volume of work between 2021 and 2022 was due to an increase in the number of jobs (+1.5%). This was partially offset by a decrease in actual annual working time per job (-0.2%), according to the report. The latter decreased despite a sharp drop in the duration of absences due to short-time work (2021: 33 hours per job; 2022: 2 hours), as the number of working days was lower (-1.3%; in 2022, more holidays fell on working days and more vacations were taken), the FSO writes.

Working time down by one hour in five years

According to statistics, from 2017 to 2022, the actual weekly working time of full-time employees (excluding employees in their own company) decreased by 59 minutes to 39 hours and 59 minutes. The reasons for this decrease were the decrease in the contractual weekly working time (-10 minutes to 41 hours and 43 minutes) and the weekly duration of overtime (-15 minutes to 40 minutes), as well as the increase in the weekly duration of absences (+33 minutes to 2 hours and 25 minutes). In the same period, an increase from 5.1 to 5.2 weeks per year (+0.2 days) was observed in the number of vacation weeks. Employees aged 20 to 49 had fewer vacation weeks (5.0 weeks) than those aged 15 to 19 and 50 to 64 (5.4 and 5.6 weeks, respectively).

Primary sector: almost 45 working hours per week

According to the FSO, the highest actual working hours per week were registered among full-time employees in the primary sector (44 hours and 58 minutes). This was followed by the industries "Financial intermediation" (41 hours and 23 minutes), "Professional, scientific and technical services" (40 hours and 47 minutes) and "Arts, entertainment, households and other services" (40 hours and 14 minutes). Actual weekly working hours were lowest in "Real estate, other business services" (39 hours and 19 minutes) and "Hotels and restaurants, accommodation" (39 hours and 23 minutes).

Increase in absences due to health reasons

Between 2021 and 2022, the average annual duration of health-related absences (illness or accident) increased from 53 to 64 hours per job, according to the FSO. In contrast, the annual duration of absences of employees due to short-time work decreased significantly (from 33 to 2 hours). Absences due to military or civilian service, maternity leave or for personal or family reasons decreased slightly. Absences "for other reasons" (e.g. quarantine or activity restrictions of self-employed persons during the Covid 19 pandemic) also decreased (from 24 to 17 hours per job).

International comparisons turn out very differently

For international comparisons, the calculation method of working hours had to be adjusted, according to the FSO. The most important change is that people who are absent during the entire reference week are not taken into account, which makes the working time significantly higher. According to this calculation, the actual weekly working time of full-time employees in Switzerland was 42 hours and 44 minutes, the Federal Office emphasizes. This puts Switzerland ahead of Romania (40 hours and 3 minutes) as the top EU/EFTA country. Working hours are lowest in Belgium (36 hours and 27 minutes) and Finland (36 hours and 35 minutes). According to the data, the average in the EU was 38 hours and 20 minutes.

However, if we look at the entire workforce, Switzerland is one of the countries with the lowest actual working hours per week, at 35 hours and 45 minutes in 2022. The reason for this is the high proportion of part-time workers. According to the FSO, Greece had the highest actual weekly working hours (39 hours and 41 minutes), while the Netherlands was at the other end of the ranking (30 hours and 50 minutes). The EU average was 35 hours and 56 minutes.
If the total volume of hours worked per week is put in relation to the total population (15 years and older), Switzerland (22 hours and 48 minutes) is once again among the countries with the highest actual weekly working hours. Switzerland's position was said to be due to its high labor force participation rate. The highest working time was recorded in Iceland, (25 hours and 22 minutes), and the lowest in Italy (16 hours and 17 minutes). The EU average was 19 hours and 27 minutes, it concludes.
Source: FSO