Is 28.5 Hours a Week Really “Working”?

A few weeks back I pointed to a depressing survey showing how vacation-deprived most Americans are.

Compare that to Europe, where it’s common to have four to six weeks off. A much more sensible and healthy life. But what if those Europeans are barely working when it’s a work week? The World Cup aside, it came out in the news this week that German VW workers only have to put in 28.5 hours per week to get a full salary.

The automaker is having tough times and wants to increase the weekly hours to 35. The union is flatly refusing to even discuss it. (In all fairness, they’re being asked to do it with no increase in pay or benefits either.)

Now I’m all for everyone getting lots of vacation time to renew and rest, but how much do you need if you don’t even work 30 hours? Are you kidding me? Even if you only work four days, that’s still only 7.125 hours per day. You can stop for a leisurely beer after work and still be home by dinner. There’s a phrase for the 28.5 hour work week: “part-time.” No wonder Germany has an unemployment rate that’s perpetually above 10 percent. When you can get double the work at a fraction of the cost in another country, why hire at home?

There’s got to be a middle ground somewhere. A happy balance where we work hard when we’re working, play hard when we’re playing, and do absolutely nothing an adequate amount of time each year.