NBC Proves Wrong the Stereotype of Lazy Greek Workers

The stereotype of the lazy Greek worker, putting in long hours but not producing much, and not declaring everything to the taxman is contradicted by CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel). Greece is perceived as the least hard-working country in Europe by the British, the Germans, the Spanish, Poles and Czechs, according to a recent survey by Pew, but it seem that this belief is based on false data. Greeks have less vacation time, and their retirement age is rising from the current average of 61 under the terms of the bailout.

The average Greek worker puts in 2,017 hours per year, more than any other European country. This is partly because there are more self-employed people, who tend to work longer hours, and fewer part-time employees to drag down the average.

There is also a problem with low productivity, particularly in the public sector, which employs around one-fifth of the population. Asked about the public sector, workers in the private sector mutter darkly about inefficiencies.
“Some people are working because they hope their pay will come through. There’s also a problem with finding another job elsewhere. And there’s also a sentimental thing where they’re attached to their jobs,” Constantinos Mavrantonis, head of General & Colo-rectal Surgery at the hospital, told CNBC.
One of Greece’s best-known newspapers, Eleftherotypia shut down in December after the family business which backed it ran out of cash. Its staff have not been paid since August, yet around 600 of them (down from 850 last August) are planning two special editions of the newspaper to cover the election this weekend.