As Spain continues to consider the needs of workers in the modern economy, the state of the siesta is currently hanging in the balance. In , then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a proposal to end the official workday at 6 p. And polls show most Spaniards would prefer this. Additionally, Spain has been toying with the idea of changing its time zone back to that of Britain and Portugal. Because of this, the sun also tends to set pretty late in Spain, which is part of the reason dinner and nightlife tends to start so late.
Spaniards also go to bed later on average, and they have a sleep deficit compared to the European average. Last summer, professional bodies in Catalonia signed on to a plan to change the regional workday by If he does, perhaps Spain can finally begin to live up to its reputation of being well-rested. Try Babbel. Toggle Menu. In the s and s, NASA conducted a study on airline pilots to find out if napping really had as many positive effects as people thought. Different studies recommend napping for between 20 and 30 minutes.
Another advantage of napping is a reduction in blood pressure, which is good news for your heart. But first, we have some tips to having the best siesta :. Login Register. In the small town of Ador, near Valencia, the siesta is sacred. Everything in the town closes between 2pm and 5pm, while all noise must be kept to a minimum. The siesta is now as alien to most Spaniards as it is to the foreigners who package it into their image of Spain. In fact, the Spanish spend far more time working than many of their counterparts in Europe.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD , Spaniards rack up 1, hours at work each year while British workers do 1, annually and the Germans work just 1, hours a year. So what has led a nation famous in part for its supposedly casual attitude to labour to become one of the hardest working in Europe?
Before tackling this question, it is perhaps worth pausing to consider that the siesta does not originally come from Spain at all - it is from Italy. If we bear in mind that they divided periods of light into 12 hours, then the sixth hour corresponds in Spain to the period between 1pm in winter and 3pm in summer. While people in some professions can still find time for forty winks midday, modern city jobs in Spain mean the siesta has largely been abandoned Credit: Getty Images.
Traditionally, the Spanish working day was split into two distinct parts: people would work from 9am until 2pm, stop for a two hour lunch break and return to work from 4pm until around 8pm. This disjointed day came about because in post Civil War Spain, many people worked two jobs to support their families, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon.
The two hour break allowed workers, especially those in rural areas, time to rest or travel after the first job ended. Then between the early s and early s, Spain experienced unprecedented migration from rural areas to its cities, where the majority of its citizens now work. Here, few people have a siesta, but the long working day appears to have remained ingrained in the culture. Instead, many Spanish businesses are afflicted by presentismo , or presenteeism.
It can affect motivation, job performance, work satisfaction, life satisfaction and it obviously has an effect on family life. While presentismo has been an issue in Spain for decades, it has become especially prevalent since the most recent global economic crisis hit the country.
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