Stop Complaining About Your 'Long' Work Week, in 2 Charts

The Transportationist blog points us to data showing the long decline of annual work hours among developed Western nations. CityLab charted a handful of the labor-hour trajectories below. The trends are remarkably consistent across countries: people have been working less and less since the Industrial Revolution, with total hours falling from around 3000 a year toward the 1500-1800 range:

Naturally, this data also means that people are working fewer hours each week. Max Roser charts the weekly trends for 14 countries. Again, across the board, hours fell from the 65 to 70 range toward the 40-hour work week we know so well today. Sure puts those Tuesday blues in perspective. (Visit the original chart to turn the plot lines for various nations off or on.)