Viva la siesta !

I've actually seen a few articles in the Spanish press over the last couple of weeks, on both sides of the issue. On the one hand, many people claim that the traditional Spanish workday (with a long mid-day break) causes problems for families, health problems from sleep deprivation, and makes Spain less competitive business-wise, since while most of Europe is back at work after lunch, workers in Spain are still out of the office for the long break. On the other hand, I've seen articles claiming that more and more "siesta parlors" are coming back into style...small shops where you can lie down and take a half-hour nap for about 4€.

Personally, I think the long mid-day break makes less sense now, since most workers aren't able to go home and eat lunch with their families as they used to do. As a result, instead of two half-days broken up by a long lunchtime, what you end up with is essentially an eleven-hour workday. Add that together with trying to pack all of the "family time" in after 8:00 or 9:00 at night, and you understand why one of these articles claimed that Spaniards sleep about an hour less every day than the average European.

Hey everyone

This is a very interesting topic because on one hand the Siesta is part of Spain's tradition and on the other hand the country is scurrying to catch up to other countries in terms of economy.

I guess it all depends on your personal choice...

Some people work for companies who give a good three hours rest(good for single people without children because of the long hours) while others expect to have their employees work the same amount of hours but less time(maybe just one to two hours)which in my opinion is a disregard to the personal and family lives of their employees.

Personally I think that each person should have a choice as to what schedule they would like to adopt.

For example: A company might have two permanent schedules, one for the individual who would like to come in early,have a short lunch and leave in the afternoon and another for the person who would like to come in a little later,have a long lunch preferably two to three hours and leave later in the evening,that way all of the company hours are covered even while some people are on a Siesta.

This way the system is beneficial for both parties in the long run(the company and its'employees)

Parents could decide to adopt the shorter schedule and would be able to spend more time with their children and people who don't have childen could enjoy the benefits of the long adored Siesta

Ninas, in my opinion a three hour break after lunch is not "good" at all. I don't know anyone with such a huge break, and I'm really glad is not my case either. Very few spaniards take siestas in the weekdays now, and even less in Madrid. Most people don't have time to go back home to have lunch and rest for a while, and when you do usually you have to race back to the office.

Over the past few years more and more people are talking about our bad working habits. Most offices are open and working 100% at 9am, many have a couple hours break and it is pretty common to set a business meeting at 8 or even 9pm. Meanwhile, during the day, most people take many coffee breaks, socializing with their workmates, so we can endure such a long working day. That has to change, we should work the 8 hours that we have to by law and then we would see people concentrating in their work knowing they can socialize AFTER work.

However I don't think we will change our weird "life schedule". Before I went to the US I thought everyone in the world had dinner at 10pm and lunch at 3pm. I was pretty shocked when I realized that on the TV stations "prime time" ended like at 8 or 9pm, while in Spain "prime time" starts around 10pm.... Well, it is our schedule and hey, I like it.

I think there is a lot of variation. In my building, everyone comes home for lunch and a siesta--probably because I live right over a metro station in the center. At my son's school, at least half of the parents--or grandparents--take their young kids home for lunch (including us).

My son is three and he get's to spend two hours with us at mid-day. He takes a nap when he gets home around 5:00. He gets up around 6:30 and then stays up until 10:00pm. He has to get up for school around 8:30 am and gets to school at 9:30.

When I worked in the US, I didn't know a single person who worked an office job from 9-5. In DC, most people work until at least 7:00--many much, much later. And most eat lunch at their desks while working or take no more than 30 minutes. Many also work at home during off-hours, are perpetually on call, and work weekends.

And, all but the luckiest, get just a few scant holidays off and two weeks of vacation a year maximum. There's a reason that the US has the highest work productivity in the world and it's not because we have a relaxing work culture!

And, all but the luckiest, get just a few scant holidays off and two weeks of vacation a year maximum. There's a reason that the US has the highest work productivity in the world and it's not because we have a relaxing work culture!

The USA (EE-UU) is the only industrialized Country in the world that does not provide a minimum annual vacation in any of it's labour laws...

For you forks in Espana...don't think that most North Americans work 9-5 everyday...in reality it's more common to work 730-630 (7h30-1830) every day with a lunch of no more then an hour... (especialy management)

WOW! I started a GREAT topic! I appreciate all of the information being provided. I am learning SO MUCH!! KEEP POSTING!!
I can see how some people in Spain would prefer the shorter work day.
My brother lives here in Illinois and works for Caterpillar, a very huge manufacturing business for construction type vehicles. He actually works 12 hr days. It is very hard work for him (but very good pay) and I bet he would love to bargain a 3 hr break in between. I agree that when employers in Spain hire people, they should provide a choice of the long work day vs. the short day. It would also depend on the type of business, also.

However, I work 8 am to 4:30 pm (0800 to 1630) and this is Monday through Friday.
It is very hard for me to take care of 'personal business' such as errands because by the time I actually leave my job, it is almost 5 pm and then alot of businesses are closed.
I am forced to leave during my normal work hours and either use ETO (earned time off) or make up my time when I come back.
I enjoy having a long lunch sometimes to take care of business, but that means coming in SOOOO EARLY to do so.

Again, thanks for everyone's insight!!

My impression (having worked a little while in Madrid) is that the standard working day is longer in Spain than in the UK. However people generally take a longer (typically close to 2 hours) lunch break. It seems that a lot of Mediterranean countries have a larger percentage of people who eat out in the day time. In the UK it's normal to just have a sandwich or hamburger in the middle of the day. Lunch breaks of only half an hour are common as people prefer to finish work earlier. This may explain why it's easier to eat out for a reasonable price (using the 6 or 7 Euro Menu del dia) in Madrid as there is a big demand for this...

Castiza has described perhaps the best reason why Spaniards are not as likely to be fat as workers in the U.S.overall, even though the food in Spain can be as fattening as that in the States, and the worker can be a Spanish natural:

Workers in the U.S. usually have a short, 1/2 to 1 hour lunch break. this is not enough time to have the main meal of the day. which means that the 5p.m. to 9 p.m. meal becomes that main meal of the day. Too many calories at a time when one becomes supine on the couch

This means that one consumes the most food energy when one is less energetic; whereas in Spain the 2-3 hour lunch allows them to have a sturdy meal at the middle of the day when they still have 4 to 6 hours of heavy activity left.

This schedule, by the way, is of medieval origin, where the "none' bells tolled around 2 3 p.m. and everyone stopped to a hearty main and perhaps only meal!

Castiza said:

Yes, if it really means a 9 to 5 schedule in the future.

That would minimize the luch break.. but, ok, you go home at 5.

But... what if that schedule gets "poco a poco" longer and longer... and you finally go home at the same hour that you do now, but meanwhile you've lost the big lunch break?

I don't know, I can't see the future, but if we lose the lunch break, that don't guarantee that you'll forever finish your work at 5.

It's very difficult to predict the unwanted consecuences of social changes that, in the beggining, you can find advisable.

Each country has its own customs FOR SOME REASON... I know many things could be improved in Spain. But, maybe it's better to leave certain things unchanged.

AND.. never underestimate the influence of climate in the working, eating and sleeping hours. This is Spain, and we have this kind of weather... do we really need to adopt a Northern Europe schedule?