Working outside standard working hours: How many workers have atypical work schedules?

According to 2023 data from the EIGE Institute, around 15% of employees in Romania work in the evenings or on weekends, outside of conventional working hours.

Thus, 14.9% of employees with employment contracts in Romania reported working in the evening, specifically between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with the percentage of women being slightly higher (15.4%) than that of men (14%). In this regard, Romania ranks near the top of the list of EU countries where people work in the evening, with the EU average standing at 12%. The highest number of employees working in the evening is found in Greece, where nearly one-third (28.6%) work in the evening, followed by Finland and Slovakia, both with 18.8% of employees. The fewest employees are in Poland, where only 3.9% of employees reported working in the evening, followed by Lithuania at 4.6%.

Among self-employed workers in Romania, this percentage is even higher. 19.6% of them work in the evening, with the percentage of men being slightly higher (19.9%) than that of women (18.6%) and close to the EU average of 18.1%. The highest number of self-employed workers who work in the evening is found in Greece, where more than half (53.6%) reported this atypical schedule, and the lowest in Hungary (6%) and Slovakia (6.8%).

Regarding work performed on weekends, in Romania, 13.7% of employees and 39.6% of self-employed workers reported working on Saturdays, while 7.6% of employees and 12.7% of self-employed workers work on Sundays. The highest percentages in the EU are recorded in Greece and Italy, where more than a third of employees with employment contracts work on Saturdays (Greece – 32.4%; Italy 30.6%), and for hours worked on Sundays, the highest percentages are found in Malta (19.2%), Ireland (16.2%), and Spain (16%). The fewest employees reporting that they work on Saturdays are in Lithuania (2.9%) and Poland (4.4%), and for Sundays, the fewest employees are in Lithuania (1.9%) and Poland (2.1%). As for self-employed workers who reported working on Saturdays, Greece (64.5%) and France (55.1%) rank highest, while Lithuania (9.9%) and Hungary (9.5%) rank lowest. The highest proportion of self-employed workers reporting hours worked on Sundays is in Austria (29.7%), France (28.7%), Sweden (26.9%), and Ireland (26.3%), while the lowest is in Hungary (5.2%), Slovakia, and Lithuania, both at 6%.

Working beyond regular hours has long-term effects on the work-life balance, as well as on employees’ ability to balance caregiving responsibilities, particularly for families with children or dependents. Other effects of working outside typical hours relate to work-related health issues, such as burnout and chronic stress. 

***

Data source: The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs/browse/ta/ta_wrklab/ta_wrklab_wrk/ta_wrklab_wrk_cond/ta_wrklab_wrk_cond_unsocwrkhours

Data processing and text design: Delia Bădoi

Infographic: Pascalone Media SRL