Which EU Country Works the Most on Weekends?

Key Takeaways

• Greece has the EU’s highest share of people who work on weekends. One reason is that about 1 in 4 Greek workers is self-employed. People who run their own business are much more likely to work on weekends.
• Jobs that serve customers have the most weekend work in the EU. Shops, restaurants, and care services stay busy when other people are off work. That is why almost half of EU service and sales workers usually work on weekends.
• Lithuania has the EU’s lowest share of people who work on weekends. Yet Lithuanian workers have long working weeks. Long working weeks alone do not push work onto weekends.
• The country you work in can shape your weekends as much as your job does. Greek craft workers usually work on weekends at 3.4 times the EU rate for the same job.

EU Countries Where the Most People Work on Weekends

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Greece Has the Highest Share of People Who Work on Weekends in the EU

In 2025, 40.7% of Greek workers usually worked on a Saturday or Sunday. That is the highest share in the EU. It is also almost twice the EU-wide share of 21.3%.

Self-employment is one reason so many Greeks work on weekends. Self-employed people run their own business, either alone or with staff.

About 1 in 4 Greek workers is self-employed. In the EU overall, about 1 in 8 workers is self-employed. Greece’s share is twice as high.

Self-employed Greeks are much more likely to work on weekends than employees. Among those who work alone, 62.1% usually work on weekends. For those with staff, the figure is 75%.

Only 31.5% of Greek employees usually work on weekends.

Running a business often means being there whenever customers are, weekends included. Because so many Greeks are self-employed, their weekend work pushes Greece’s overall share up.

Weekend work in Greece is not new. Since 2000, Greece’s weekend work share has stayed between 37.9% and 44.4% in every year on record. This suggests the causes are long-standing, not a recent trend.

Even so, Greek employees stand out compared with employees elsewhere in the EU. Across the EU, 18.5% of employees usually work on weekends.

Weekend work in Greece is common across almost every job group:

Greece’s weekend work share is furthest above the EU average in craft and related trades jobs. These include builders, electricians and metal workers. Elsewhere in the EU, these jobs rarely involve weekend work.

Greece is closest to the EU average in service and sales jobs.

Shops and restaurants open on weekends all over the EU. That already keeps the EU weekend work share for service and sales jobs high.

By contrast, Lithuania has the lowest share of people who work on weekends in the EU. Only 3.9% of Lithuanian workers usually work on a Saturday or Sunday.

Like Greeks, Lithuanians work long weeks. Greek workers averaged 39.6 hours a week in 2025. Lithuanian workers averaged 38.4 hours.

Long working weeks alone do not push work onto weekends.

Service, Sales, and Farm Jobs Have the Most Weekend Work in the EU

Across the EU, your job type makes a big difference to your weekends. Among the 10 main job groups, two have the highest shares of people who work on weekends: service and sales workers, and farmers, forestry workers, and fishers. Clerical support workers have the lowest share.

The other seven job groups have weekend work shares between 10.3% and 47.2%.

Most service and sales jobs follow their customers’ schedules. Many people shop, eat out, or need care on Saturdays and Sundays. That is why these workers are often needed on weekends.

Farm work doesn’t stop on weekends either. Animals and crops need care every day.

By contrast, most office work follows a Monday to Friday week. That is why few clerical support workers need to work on weekends.

Weekend work in the EU depends less on how many hours people work. It depends more on what job they do and which country they work in.