( CNN ) -- As Spain continues its drive to slash budgets and cut spending , one of the nation 's favorite pastimes -- the siesta -- is under threat as ministers look for ways to boost productivity . Three-hour lunches and catnaps , long the envy of Spain 's European neighbors , could soon be a thing of the past . Last month a parliamentary commission called for the government to turn back the country 's clocks by an hour and introduce regular working hours from 9am to 5pm . Read more : IMF 's Lagarde warns against 'complacent ' Europe . With the economy contracting and unemployment among the highest in Europe , the proposal is the latest move by the embattled Mediterranean nation to spur growth and create jobs in the wake of a four-year long eurozone debt crisis . A spokesperson for the Spanish economy ministry said the government is looking at the proposal for a time zone change and `` more rational working hours '' following the Commission 's study . The move would potentially see Spain revert to Greenwich Mean Time , after Spain 's long-time dictator Franco moved the country 's clocks on to Central European Time to align with Nazi Germany in the 1940s . Read more : A history of defaulting on debt . Speaking with CNN , Ignacio Buqueras , president of the Association for the Rationalization of Spanish Working Hours , said : `` For 71 years we have been on the wrong clock . We need a clock that is more convenient . '' He added : `` We are also recommending a more flexible work schedule so that the days do n't finish any later than 5pm and that at midday , lunch wo n't last any longer than roughly forty minutes . '' One business that is trialling a new working day is Studio Banana , a Madrid-based design firm , where workers have found a novel way to incorporate breaks , siestas and lunch into a normal working day . Using an 'Ostrichpillow ' -- a full-head pillow that allows users to sleep anywhere -- employees at Studio Banana take short power naps and return to work fresh . Ali Ganjavian , co-creator of Ostrich Pillow , said : `` It came about because we were spending a lot of time working in the studios so we thought to ourselves 'why do n't we create a product that allows us to sleep anywhere . ' '' Read more : Europe feeling the economic winds of change . Spain 's unemployment crisis . The Commission 's proposal to shift time zones is part of an effort to improve the country 's productivity and align Spain 's working hours with other European partners . But while the economic picture in Spain may look bleak , unemployment figures for the third-quarter improved slightly to 25.98 % compared with 26.26 % in the second three months of 2013 , according to the country 's National Institute of Statistics . Read more : Spanish exports are bright spark for economy . However , youth unemployment , which remains over 50 % , still poses a major problem for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy 's government as many young people flee abroad in search of work . Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros , the Spanish government 's high commissioner for Brand Spain , told CNN that it will take `` many years '' for the jobless rate to drop to single digits . `` My estimate is something like five years before figures go below 10 % , '' Monteros said , `` [ No one has a ] magic solution . '' Since the eurozone crisis began in 2009 , policymakers have called on troubled nations to reform labor markets and increase flexibility , making it easier for employers to hire and fire employees . Monteros believes Spain has to become a `` business friendly '' country and argues that if the government wants the country to return to growth taxes must be reduced . `` The labor reform has been an asset , '' he said , `` because most multinational companies that compare the situation in Europe are ranking Spain as the first one in terms of flexibility and cost of labor . '' CNN 's Oliver Joy contributed to this report .
TIme ##x proposal is the latest attempt by Spain to improve productivity and align working hours with rest of day . Spanish unemployment in the third - quarter improved slightly to 25.98 % compared with 26.26 % in Q2 of 2015 . Youth unemployment , which remains over 30 % , poses a major problem for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy 's government .