The British work the longest hours in Europe and spend less time sleeping and eating than any other country in the Western world.

A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), found that UK workers are more likely to put in at least 50 hours a week, whilst facing the highest housing costs and longest commutes.

The organisation, which represents 34 industrialised nations, compared how many of each country’s workers put in more than 50 hours a week. The British rate of 12 per cent is the highest in Europe and in the OECD is behind only Turkey, Mexico, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.

By contrast, just eight per cent of Germans, five per cent of French, four per cent of the Irish and one per cent of workers in the Netherlands work more than 50 hours a week, reports The Daily Mail.

Despite these figures, the study also revealed that the British are some of the most joyful people in the world, with 85 per cent feeling happy rather than sad on a daily basis. Britons were also reported to spend on average at least five hours a day having fun, but just 10 hours a day eating and sleeping.

Conal Smith, an Economist at the OECD, said people in the UK are happy because they have more contact with friends and family, adding: ‘Britons work long hours but they are not doing too badly on leisure time.’

To see how you’re balancing your leisure time and workload, try our Work-Life Wizard.

For tips on managing your time and workload effectively and for further information on this subject, try these links:

• Tips for managing your time and workload
• Time Management
• Scale and impact of working extra hours and overtime