Calvy Yue
After looking over the primary points of the traditional work week in Spain (and more specifically, Barcelona), we will find that it is generally more or less similar to the United States.
Work Week
My assumption: I presumed that Americans worked more than Spaniards. I was correct for the most part, but for different reasons other than the relaxed society and importance of a family-centric culture.
- Full time US = 40 hours. Spain = 40 hours. (Freyssinet & Michon, 2003)
- Common work hours
- US = 9 am - 5:30 pm, assuming a 30 minute lunch.
- Spain = 9 am - 1:30 pm; 4:30 pm - 8m, but it differs in different parts of the country. (Work in Spain: Finding a Job in Spain, 2016).
- Does not account for work outside the office, especially US overtime. Only 80 hours annual maximum, with exceptions in Spain. (Freyssinet & Michon, 2003).
- Example: Actual average US work hours: 47 hours (Saad, 2014)
- Public Holidays celebrated
- Spain = 14 days (maximum), mix of national and municipal holidays chosen by autonomous region (European Commission, 2014)
- US = Mandatory for government offices; optional for private companies. Usually Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas, 10 federal holidays (Learn about Life in the United States, 2016)
Siesta/Lunch
Work Benefits
- Spain = the Siesta
- Cultural tradition
- To be eliminated in favor of economic and productivity reasons
- Time to socialize; workers and children
- US = lunch
- Lunch in the US is one hour or less. For some it includes buying and eating lunch at desk or in a break room.
My assumption: American benefits are similar in scale to policies in Europe
- Europe = Denmark, France, and Spain are among the best providers of total social benefits.
- US = Arguably the worst of developed Western countries.
- For more information view Glassdoor research.
Job Market
- Spain = More popular professions (construction, housing, etc.). Same jobs as in the US.
- US = Most common jobs are in the service/food industry; low-end (Bureau of Labor Stats, 2013)
- US Expats living in cities like Madrid and Barcelona = Usually highly skilled trades, business, or language related (Dunham).
Employment and Economy
My assumption: If you think unemployment was bad in the US in '08, think again!
- US = In Oregon unemployment has been as high as 10.7% since '08 (Griffin, 2010)
- Spain = Unemployment is more than double what it is in the US.
- Structural unemployment
- Jobs market (generous layoff pay pre-Franco, abused temp contracts post) Source?
- Less mid-level positions available (either high or low skilled)
- Tourism
- No solid industry in Spain (ex. Italian coffee, Ecuadorian bananas, etc.)
- Cheap university, but NOT problem
- Recently, 2008 real estate bubble
- Barcelona differs from the rest of Spain
- '92 Olympics spurred the rest of the economy (beach construction, tourism)
- Relationship with the EU today (one of the highest cities by GDP)
Conclusion
Despite differences in culture and the past, the work week in Spain is becoming more and more modernized, and is more and more similar to what we see in the United States. However, the condition of US job benefits appears to be on the low end of the scale and very fickle when compared to most European countries. On the other hand, Spain stands out as one of the most generous countries in this area. While traditions such as the siesta are being phased out, the long-established composition and nature of the labor market has made it an extended problem of unemployment for Spain as a whole. Certain parts, such as Barcelona, fare a bit better than the rest of the country due to certain economic surges. Still, the US still seems to have more favorable economic conditions and work opportunities.
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