Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 32 
Figure 9: Average working time and work during unsocial hours – Eurostat LFS   
 
 
Two country examples might illustrate these developments (all data for 2019): Slovakia, a country with 
a high share of process-based industries, reports that 15.0% of its workforce is working at night and 29% 
in shifts; for the EU27 this rate is 5.2% respectively  and 18.3%.25 Regarding work on Sundays three 
other countries are at the top of the EU27, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain; they report between 18% 
and 21% ( EU27 average = 13.5%); all three countries have an above- average share of sectors like 
transport, tourism and agriculture.26  
For all these types of work it should be take into account that other gro ups of workers under non -
standard types of employment contracts  (self-employed, agency workers, students, pensioners, 
undeclared workers) might have taken over work at these atypical working times.  
Concluding, it can be stated that there is a slight trend towards a reduction of weekly working hours 
for regularly employe d workers, including a stable commuting time. Working hours at atypical times 
show a mixed picture. Looking at most types of employees, atypical working time decreased, except 
work on Sundays. For self-employed with employees, the working time at atypical hours is in general 
at a higher level. The number of employees in night work is decreasing. More employees in service and 
client-related occupations at night or in shifts but also here the atypical times are slightly decreasing.  
Probably these changes mirror the structural economic changes , that is,  the shift of workforce 
between sectors. Night work was common in many industries as part of a three 8- hours shifts, not only 
in industries with permanent production processes (steel, chemicals, etc.).27 Moreover night work is and 
was common in essential services like health, transport, technical infrastructure and security. The