Recent studies have shown that workers across Europe (except the UK) generally have lower working hours and less tasks than British and American counterparts. However, in most cases, Europeans are least likely to expect flexibility in the workplace, whereas in America and the UK, flexible work schemes like telecommuting and flex-time are common company policies.
Practices like these have a big effect on the productivity of companies and the economies at large. And most especially, these have an effect on the productivity and income of individual employees. Employees generally get less income than if they were allowed to work from home or remotely, and time in on a flexible basis. So rather than a full eight hours’ work being considered, sometimes staff are only half a day’s pay if the designated time is not followed. Add to this the fact that European laws usually discourage two-income households, then the breadwinners are likely to slave off most of the day to earn a better pay, rather than husband and wife sharing the income responsibilities, and possibly earning more for themselves and the economy.