Most employees working very long hours in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Turkey has the largest proportion of people working very long hours in the OECD, according to data compiled on May 1, Labor Day. 

In Turkey, some 39 percent of employees work very long hours, defined as working 50 hours or more per week. The OECD average is 13 percent, according to the latest OECD wellbeing data. 

About 43 percent of men work very long hours in Turkey, compared with 31 percent of women.

Around 25 percent of employees work more than 60 hours per week in Turkey, the data also showed.  

Long working hours may impair personal health, jeopardize safety and increase stress. 

In terms of employment, around 50 percent of people aged 15 to 64 in Turkey have a paid job, lower than the OECD employment average of 66 percent and one of the lowest figures in the OECD. 

Some 70 percent of men are in paid work, compared with 30 percent of women.

At 43 percent, Turkey also has the highest gender workforce participation gap among OECD countries. Even among emerging economies this gap is one of the highest, although it has narrowed somewhat in recent years. 

Women also face much poorer job quality than men in Turkey. In 2014, some 48 percent of female workers have informal jobs compared with 29 percent of male workers, according to the latest OECD employment data. 

Women also earn around 15 percent less on average than men, a gender pay gap that is around average by OECD standards and below what is observed in many other emerging economies.