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More than 600 million people worldwide work excessively long hours - and Britons are the worst offenders among rich nations.
An International Labour Organisation report on working trends shows that more than a quarter of British workers put in more than 48 hours a week.
The study by the United Nations agency covered 50 countries worldwide.
"The good news is that progress has been made in regulating normal working hours in developing and transition countries," said Jon C. Messenger, co-author of the study.
"But overall the findings of this study are definitely worrying."
And progress towards a maximum 48-hour week was still uneven nearly 100 years after the standard was agreed by members, the ILO report said.
It pointed to the growth of service industries, such as tourism and transport, and the expanding informal economy, where workers are not under contract, contributed to longer working hours.
Both elements are signs of increasing globalization, it said.
Topping the results of the study were Peruvians with more than half (50.9 per cent) of them working more than 48 hours a week.
They are followed by South Koreans (49.5 per cent), Thais (46.7 per cent) and Pakistanis (44.4 per cent).
In developed countries, where working hours are generally shorter, 25.7 per cent of British workers put in more than 48 hours a week followed by Israelis (25.5 per cent), Australians (20.4 per cent), Swiss (19.2 per cent) and U.S. workers (18.1 per cent).
The ILO maintains that shorter working hours benefit workers' health and family lives, reduce accidents at the workplace and generally make workers more productive.
全世界有6亿多人超时工作，而英国人的工作时间则位居各发达国家之首。
国际劳工组织日前一项有关工作趋势的报告显示，四分之一以上的英国人一周工作时间超过48小时。
联合国国际劳工组织在50个国家开展了该项调查。
调查报告撰写者之一乔恩·C·麦新格说：“值得高兴的是，在保证发展中国家和转型期国家的正常工作时间方面有了进步。”
“但总体结果还是很令人担忧。”
报告中说，周工作时间不超过48小时的标准100年前在各成员国中已达成协议，但直到现在，这方面的进步仍然不均衡。
调查表明，旅游、交通等服务业的增长，以及非正规经济（所雇员工无合同保障）的不断发展壮大是导致工作时间过长的主要原因。
报告指出，这两大因素标志着全球化的不断加速。
全球工作时间最长的国家是秘鲁，超过一半（50.9%）的秘鲁人一周的工作时间超过48小时。
其次是韩国（49.5%）、泰国（46.7%）和巴基斯坦（44.4%）。
发达国家的工作时间普遍较短，25.7%的英国人一周工作时间超过48小时，其次是以色列（25.5%）、澳大利亚（20.4%）、瑞士（19.2%）和美国（18.1%）。
国际劳工组织提出，缩短工作时间有益于人们的健康和家庭生活，可以减少工作场所的事故发生率，总体来说能够提高员工的工作效率。 来源: 中国日报网站 |
