Quality of life · Work & earnings
As at 13 October 2026 · official data unless labelled
Employees working very long hours (50+ a week)
What the numbers are telling us
The share of employees working 50 hours or more a week was 9.68% in 2025, down 0.5 pts on the previous reading (10.2%).
It is below its 10-year average of 11.5%, which is a better reading than usual.
Across 36 OECD countries (2025), Australia ranks 30th best of 36 on long hours, above the median of 3.99%.
Why it matters
Long hours crowd out rest, family and health.
What it should be
There is no official target, so Australia is judged against comparable countries: lower than the OECD median is better. The OECD median is 3.99%.
Every figure on this page is calculated from the stored official series (OECD, How's Life? Current well-being (OECD WISE)); the summary is written from the numbers, not edited by hand.