This is something I hope does not change. I remember when I lived with a spanish family in sevilla. I really looked forward to having lunch. I like the idea of family getting together to share lunch. This is something that you don't really see in the US. Christmas or thanksgiving. Besides I needed siesta to recover from partying all night.

The thing is that, even if it is dissapearing from our daily routine, it won't dissapear from our culture. Whenever someone is able to take a siesta, he take it.

Most people in summer take a siesta on the beach or at home, no matter what he does in winter. The same happens on vacations or in the weekends.

I'm able to sleep 15 minutes or so 10% of my working days hehehe

Fernando

I agree, I think workers can be more productive with a few hours' break in the middle of the day than those who sit at their desks for seven hours straight... however this will soon disappear due to the ever increasing establishment of large MNCs in Spain. Personally I still go home for lunch and siesta every day (work permitting) but I'm not counting on it lasting much longer!

Excellent articles, MadridMan.

I would like to add that older workers are more productive when they can take a nap. It is very hard for many over fifty to have the life-enhancing 8 hours sleep. So an extra hour sleep at lunch time can make up for this deficiency.

I have worked the Madrid shift 9 to 2 and 5 to 8 and I tell you it is knackering after a while. Lets face it we dont all live in the centre of the city where we work, it is unpleasant in the summer commuting,and 3 hr lunches every day lead to obesity if you are not careful.
Back in the UK 9 to 5 with 1hr lunch - easy peasy!, I can even get a 45 min jog in after work and get to bed by 11 with no noise from the neighbours and wake up feeling healthy if not cold! Madrid es la bomba si! But it if you want to be healthy get out! Go to Galicia!

Yes, but Steve, those of us in the U.S. and Britain (and many other countries) have been trained our whole lives to work 9 to 5 or thereabouts. I recall reading a flurry of articles about 10 years ago here in the U.S. from nap proponents showing that humans have an innate "clock" that drives them to try to take a nap in the afternoon. Ok, maybe not 3 hours, but still a nap.

That being said, I have to say that I also prefer the 9-5 (or in my case 8:30 -6:30 or more) work schedule because once I get home from work, I am home. Done. The rest of the day (which sometimes isn't much) is mine.

Happy napping!

[originally posted by esperanza on 01-17-2005 11:17 AM]

read this article in the NY TIMES this week:

Spaniards Dare to Question the Way the Day Is Ordered

By RENWICK McLEAN Published: January 12, 2005

MADRID, Jan. 11 - In Spanish, time doesn't fly; it "runs." Watches don't run; they "walk." Morning lasts until 2 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. is still the afternoon.The way Spaniards talk about time reflects a society where things move at a different speed, and where the days can seem interminably long to a foreigner.For much of Spain's recent history, the siesta made the long days bearable. A routine workday that begins at 9 a.m. and finishes at 8 p.m. can seem somewhat rational if it is broken up by a good nap in the afternoon.Today, long commutes make a trip home for a nap impractical, at least in the major cities. But if the siesta is becoming a thing of the past, it has left a legacy of idle afternoons that is still very much a part of Spanish life. In a way, the siesta has not so much disappeared as it has morphed into an epic lunch, often a two- or three-hour extravaganza that can last until 5. Now some Spaniards are beginning to ask if a divided workday, with morning and evening sessions straddling an afternoon of scarce productivity, is compatible with the modern world and Spain's growing integration into Europe.The Fundación Independiente, a research organization in Madrid, has started a campaign to do away with the marathon lunches and to align the Spanish work schedule with the 9-to-5 routine common in the rest of the European Union. "In a globalized world, we have to have schedules that are more similar to those in the rest of the world so we can be better connected," said Ignacio Buqueras y Bach, the group's president. "These Spanish lunches of two to three hours are very pleasant, but they are not very productive."Change already appears to have taken root in some places. It is not hard to find convenience stores and shopping centers here that stay open all day, a contrast from 10 to 12 years ago. Perhaps more telling, it is not unusual to see a boutique with a sign in the window saying, "We do not close at midday."But a long break in the afternoon is so ingrained in the Spanish psyche that many wonder if it is possible, or even preferable, to get rid of it.Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has said he has his doubts. "That is very difficult to do in Spain," he said recently. "The work schedule is what distinguishes Spaniards, but it is also what defines us."government offices after 2 p.m. are often greeted with a request to call back at 5. Even in the private sector, working hours tend to omit much of the afternoon.Because of the long break at midday, many evening activities are pushed back deep into the night. Dinner often starts at 10 p.m., as does prime-time television. Several hours later, streets are still alive and Spaniards are still busy."Midnight is early," said María Jesús Franco, a 30-year-old architect, as she finished a multi-course lunch at 5:30 p.m. with some friends near Madrid. "Children are asleep by then, but that's about it."When the siesta was around to keep people going, the long days may have seemed sensible. But without it, Spain has become a nation of sleepy souls who wake early and go home late, but no longer stop to nap in between.Spaniards sleep on average 40 fewer minutes per day than the typical European, according to Mr. Buqueras of the Fundación Independiente. The lack of sleep has serious health effects for Spanish society, he said, including a greater incidence of physical and mental illness and higher rates of traffic and workplace accidents.Some doctors have taken to urging a return to the siesta, but Mr. Buqueras says the best solution is to shorten the workday so people can get home earlier and get to bed sooner.A reduced workday would also give Spaniards more time for a host of other activities, according to Mr. Buqueras.Perhaps most important, it would enable parents to spend more time with their children, he said. "Kids come home from school and they are alone until 9 p.m. because parents are working," he said.Some of the staunchest supporters of his initiative, in fact, are women's groups who say that the current schedule makes it very difficult for working mothers to juggle job and family demands.Supporters also say that shortening the workday would pep up Spain's economy. Spaniards work more hours per week than the average European, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but they accomplish less. "There is the law of diminishing returns," Mr. Buqueras said. "You can work well for the first three to four hours, then you slow down, and at the end of the day it's worse. The work schedule should be set with productivity in mind."Mr. Buqueras said many Spaniards mistakenly believed that a long break at midday had always been a part of the Spanish lifestyle. "As late as 1930, lunchtime was between 12 and 1, and dinnertime started at 7 or 8," he said. "If you look at the newspapers or novels from the beginning of the century, they all show it."What is unclear, he said, is why habits changed. Some historians point to the Spanish Civil War, which was fought from 1936 to 1939. It is possible, Mr. Buqueras contended, that "the hunger that is always caused by wars forced people to work two jobs to survive," one in the morning and one at night. The midday break would have given them time to get from one job to the other. "But there are no definite causes," he said.The task of persuading Spaniards to go back to the prewar routine faces some formidable obstacles, Mr. Buqueras said, but not insurmountable ones. "Three years ago, there was general skepticism, even smiles, as if we were Quixote going after windmills," he said. "But we think people are starting to realize that we have a point."government offices after 2 p.m. are often greeted with a request to call back at 5. Even in the private sector, working hours tend to omit much of the afternoon.Because of the long break at midday, many evening activities are pushed back deep into the night. Dinner often starts at 10 p.m., as does prime-time television. Several hours later, streets are still alive and Spaniards are still busy."Midnight is early," said María Jesús Franco, a 30-year-old architect, as she finished a multi-course lunch at 5:30 p.m. with some friends near Madrid. "Children are asleep by then, but that's about it."When the siesta was around to keep people going, the long days may have seemed sensible. But without it, Spain has become a nation of sleepy souls who wake early and go home late, but no longer stop to nap in between.Spaniards sleep on average 40 fewer minutes per day than the typical European, according to Mr. Buqueras of the Fundación Independiente. The lack of sleep has serious health effects for Spanish society, he said, including a greater incidence of physical and mental illness and higher rates of traffic and workplace accidents.Some doctors have taken to urging a return to the siesta, but Mr. Buqueras says the best solution is to shorten the workday so people can get home earlier and get to bed sooner.A reduced workday would also give Spaniards more time for a host of other activities, according to Mr. Buqueras.Perhaps most important, it would enable parents to spend more time with their children, he said. "Kids come home from school and they are alone until 9 p.m. because parents are working," he said.Some of the staunchest supporters of his initiative, in fact, are women's groups who say that the current schedule makes it very difficult for working mothers to juggle job and family demands.Supporters also say that shortening the workday would pep up Spain's economy. Spaniards work more hours per week than the average European, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but they accomplish less. "There is the law of diminishing returns," Mr. Buqueras said. "You can work well for the first three to four hours, then you slow down, and at the end of the day it's worse. The work schedule should be set with productivity in mind."Mr. Buqueras said many Spaniards mistakenly believed that a long break at midday had always been a part of the Spanish lifestyle. "As late as 1930, lunchtime was between 12 and 1, and dinnertime started at 7 or 8," he said. "If you look at the newspapers or novels from the beginning of the century, they all show it."What is unclear, he said, is why habits changed. Some historians point to the Spanish Civil War, which was fought from 1936 to 1939. It is possible, Mr. Buqueras contended, that "the hunger that is always caused by wars forced people to work two jobs to survive," one in the morning and one at night. The midday break would have given them time to get from one job to the other. "But there are no definite causes," he said.The task of persuading Spaniards to go back to the prewar routine faces some formidable obstacles, Mr. Buqueras said, but not insurmountable ones. "Three years ago, there was general skepticism, even smiles, as if we were Quixote going after windmills," he said. "But we think people are starting to realize that we have a point."
Many of Mr. Zapatero's countrymen have shown little interest in changing their habits. Storefronts across Madrid still board up each afternoon for two or three hours. Calls to government offices after 2 p.m. are often greeted with a request to call back at 5. Even in the private sector, working hours tend to omit much of the afternoon.
Because of the long break at midday, many evening activities are pushed back deep into the night. Dinner often starts at 10 p.m., as does prime-time television. Several hours later, streets are still alive and Spaniards are still busy.
"Midnight is early," said María Jesús Franco, a 30-year-old architect, as she finished a multi-course lunch at 5:30 p.m. with some friends near Madrid. "Children are asleep by then, but that's about it."
When the siesta was around to keep people going, the long days may have seemed sensible. But without it, Spain has become a nation of sleepy souls who wake early and go home late, but no longer stop to nap in between.
Spaniards sleep on average 40 fewer minutes per day than the typical European, according to Mr. Buqueras of the Fundación Independiente. The lack of sleep has serious health effects for Spanish society, he said, including a greater incidence of physical and mental illness and higher rates of traffic and workplace accidents.
Some doctors have taken to urging a return to the siesta, but Mr. Buqueras says the best solution is to shorten the workday so people can get home earlier and get to bed sooner.
A reduced workday would also give Spaniards more time for a host of other activities, according to Mr. Buqueras.
Perhaps most important, it would enable parents to spend more time with their children, he said. "Kids come home from school and they are alone until 9 p.m. because parents are working," he said.
Some of the staunchest supporters of his initiative, in fact, are women's groups who say that the current schedule makes it very difficult for working mothers to juggle job and family demands.
Supporters also say that shortening the workday would pep up Spain's economy. Spaniards work more hours per week than the average European, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but they accomplish less. "There is the law of diminishing returns," Mr. Buqueras said. "You can work well for the first three to four hours, then you slow down, and at the end of the day it's worse. The work schedule should be set with productivity in mind."
Mr. Buqueras said many Spaniards mistakenly believed that a long break at midday had always been a part of the Spanish lifestyle. "As late as 1930, lunchtime was between 12 and 1, and dinnertime started at 7 or 8," he said. "If you look at the newspapers or novels from the beginning of the century, they all show it."
What is unclear, he said, is why habits changed. Some historians point to the Spanish Civil War, which was fought from 1936 to 1939. It is possible, Mr. Buqueras contended, that "the hunger that is always caused by wars forced people to work two jobs to survive," one in the morning and one at night. The midday break would have given them time to get from one job to the other. "But there are no definite causes," he said.
The task of persuading Spaniards to go back to the prewar routine faces some formidable obstacles, Mr. Buqueras said, but not insurmountable ones. "Three years ago, there was general skepticism, even smiles, as if we were Quixote going after windmills," he said. "But we think people are starting to realize that we have a point."

I'm with Steve on this...

If people work till 7-8-9 pm, when do they do other stuff, like shopping, going to the bank, to the doctor, to the hairdresser's, to the gym, to the library, do the housework etc.etc.?? When do they spend time with their family? If I had to do all this after 9pm I couldn't imagine going to bed before 2 or 3 am - and if you start working again at 9am the next day no wonder you're constantly sleepy...

Also, what can you really do with a 2 hour break in the middle of the day? If you can't reunite with your family for lunch (and I guess most people can't, unless everyone in their family works really close to their home), then you end up hanging out it the office anyway, don't you?

The way I see it, you lose 10 hours of the day and are paid for 8...

The answer: Saturday mornings. If you go to one of the bigger supermarkets in Madrid (Alcampo, Carrefour) on a Saturday morning you'll see that there are so many people that it's hard to even walk up and down the aisles! But seriously, it is a problem for people to find time to get things done.

I imagine many people would gladly give up the siesta lunch if it meant they could leave work at 5:00. There are some companies in Madrid that follow the "European" or "American" schedule of 9-5 with 30 minutes for lunch. The problem is that even in these companies many people still end up working until 7 or 8, so if they're still working late I guess it's better to have the long break at lunch. In one of the companies where I teach their work schedule is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. so they should have the afternoons free to do what they want (except for Thursdays when they do have to work from 5-8 also). But, my students have told me that the majority of the people that they work with are in the office every afternoon even though they shouldn't have to work then. One student even told me that recently he had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, and he actually had to ask his boss for permission to miss work that afternoon even though he really wasn't missing work since the appointment was after 3!

The long working hours are also a problem for spending time with your family. Young children may already be in bed (or getting ready for bed) by the time their parents get home from work. Many people say how family-oriented Spain is and how it's a great place to raise children, but I'm not so sure. Of course in some ways it is family-oriented, but in most cases the working hours definitely aren't compatible with family life. This may be one reason why Spaniards are having fewer children.