Record numbers of Americans have quit their jobs in recent months. In what has been dubbed "The Great Resignation," one-in-four U.S. workers left their job in 2021. Much of the exodus is being driven by employee burnout, which often results from spending too much time at work.
Partly in an effort to reduce the likelihood of employee burnout, governments and companies are experimenting with four-day workweeks. Following successful trial runs in Iceland and New Zealand, Scotland is set to implement its own four-day workweek trial period, without pay reduction. The Japanese government actively encourages companies to use the four-day workweek model. Here is a look at how long the typical work week is around the world.
In the United States, meanwhile, the five-day workweek remains the norm. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American workers in the 16 to 64 age group usually work an average of 38 hours and 48 minutes per week. But how much time people spend at work could depend on where they live, as in some parts of the country, the typical workweek is far longer.
In Oklahoma City, the average workweek is 39 hours and 36 minutes, almost an hour more than the national average. The workweek is longer than average in the metro area despite the education and health services sector accounting for the largest share of employment. Nationwide, those employed in the education and health services industry work an average of 33.2 hours a week -- less than in most other sectors.
As is often the case in metro areas with longer than average workweeks, workers in Oklahoma City are more likely than most to be employed full time. Only 19.3% of workers in the metro area are employed part time, compared to 21.9% of workers nationwide.
Metro areas are ranked on mean hours worked per week among full time and part time workers in the 16 to 64 age group with data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. Because working-day length can vary considerably for U.S. service members, metro areas where 10% or more of the labor force are in the military were excluded from analysis. Supplemental data is from both the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the ACS. In the case of a tie, the metro area with the longer average commute time ranked higher.
RankMetro areaAvg. hours worked per weekAvg. commute time (minutes)Avg. income per capita ($)1Odessa, TX42.824.528,5822Midland, TX42.120.637,1083Longview, TX41.524.128,8984San Angelo, TX41.420.329,1845Casper, WY41.218.332,9346Twin Falls, ID40.918.426,9237Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY40.825.528,9638Alexandria, LA40.627.926,7159Tyler, TX40.625.929,05310Houma-Thibodaux, LA40.526.827,42111Grand Island, NE40.520.529,50412Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX40.330.735,19013Charleston-North Charleston, SC40.327.638,05014Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX40.128.636,27415Anchorage, AK40.123.138,84216Hattiesburg, MS40.122.825,24717Owensboro, KY40.122.729,27018Corpus Christi, TX40.120.927,28619Staunton, VA40.022.430,07920Amarillo, TX40.021.128,23321Sioux Falls, SD40.019.434,87822Greeley, CO39.928.333,86323Charleston, WV39.924.628,10724Savannah, GA39.924.431,54125Shreveport-Bossier City, LA39.923.227,80726Farmington, NM39.922.821,62627Texarkana, TX-AR39.920.726,16528Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC39.823.341,42129Montgomery, AL39.822.529,09430Wausau-Weston, WI39.819.632,92431Cheyenne, WY39.817.539,79132Gainesville, GA39.729.832,66733Birmingham-Hoover, AL39.728.133,13134Gadsden, AL39.726.225,06535Tulsa, OK39.722.232,38036Jefferson City, MO39.722.029,47537Fond du Lac, WI39.721.233,84738Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA39.632.537,33139Hammond, LA39.631.624,21740San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX39.627.429,80241Michigan City-La Porte, IN39.625.628,48442Florence, SC39.624.725,90143Lebanon, PA39.624.129,62944Spartanburg, SC39.623.927,96945Oklahoma City, OK39.623.732,57746Columbus, GA-AL39.622.227,286
via Oklahoma's Center Square News