The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week (British English), or workweek (U.S. English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally non-working days in the seven-day week. What constitutes the workweek is mandated either by law or custom. In Christian tradition, Sunday is the "Lord's Day" and the day of rest and worship. The Jewish or Biblical Sabbath, known as Shabbat, lasts from sunset on Friday to the fall of full darkness on Saturday. The French Revolutionary Calendar had ten-day weeks and allowed decadi, one out of the ten days, as a leisure day.
The present-day concept of the weekend first arose from the Dies Solis (Day of the Sun) decreed by Constantine, and the Biblical Sabbath. The weekend in Western countries comprises Saturday and Sunday, when most employees do not have to work. Whereas the Sabbath itself was just one day each week, the preceding day also came to be taken as a holiday, because it was considered necessary to do preparatory tasks at home that would permit proper Sabbath observance the next day. (Luke 23;54)
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In cultures with a seven-day week, the day of rest derives from the main religious tradition: Sunday (Christian), Saturday (Jewish), or Friday (Muslim).
The American concept of the weekend has its roots in labor union attempts to accommodate Jewish workers who took Saturday instead of Sunday as their Sabbath.[1] The first five-day work week was instituted by a New England cotton mill for this reason.
In 1926 Henry Ford began shutting down his automotive factories for all of Saturday and Sunday. In 1929 the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was the first union to demand a five-day work week and receive it. After that, the rest of the United States slowly followed, but it wasn't until 1940 that the two-day weekend began nationwide.
(Countries are listed alphabetically, only some appear under the subsections for Islamic countries and the European Union.)
In Australia, the working week begins on Monday and ends on Friday. The official working week varies between 35 and 40 hours per week (not including breaks). Many businesses, particularly in the retail and service sectors, are regularly open for business on Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons.
The standard business office working week in Canada begins on Monday and ends on Friday, 40 hours per week. Weekend begins on Friday after work at 5pm, and ends on Monday morning at 8am. Many businesses, particularly in the retail and service sectors, are regularly open for business on Saturday and Sunday.
The law sets the legal workweek at six days or 45 hours; the maximum workday length is 10 hours. The law establishes occupational safety and health standards.
In China, the working week begins on Monday and ends on Friday. China began the two-day weekend in 1995. Most workers work 5 days a week (including officials and most industries). Normally, the Chinese consider the week beginning with Monday and ending with Sunday. However, most shops as well as the museums and cinemas are open on Saturday and Sunday. Commercial establishments including consumer banking and consumer telecommunication branches are generally open throughout the weekend and also on most public holidays.
Colombia, as practically all Latin American countries, has a 40 working-hours workweek running from Monday to Friday. Shops and retailers open Saturday and Sunday in most of the biggest cities.
Colombia has a 48 working-hours worweek running from Monday to Saturday.
In Europe, the standard full-time working week begins on Monday and ends on Friday. Most retail shops are open for business on Saturday. In Ireland, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the former communist states of Europe, large shopping centres open on Sunday, however in the Netherlands this is still somewhat controversial, as some political parties, especially the SGP,[2] tend to disagree with it. In some European countries such as Germany and Denmark, there are laws regulating open hours for shops. Shops must, with exceptions, be closed from midnight until the early morning and on Sundays.
The work week is Monday through Friday, although Friday is usually a half-day. Shops are open on Saturdays. Almost no shops are open on Sundays, as this is not allowed by law. However, exceptions to this have been made in Vienna.
The work week is Monday through Friday; 8 hours per day, 40 hours in total per week. Some pharmacies, shops, bars, cafes and restaurants are open in Saturdays and Sundays.
In the Czech Republic, the work week is usually from Monday to Friday, 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week as a full-time job. Lots of shops and restaurants are open on Saturdays and Sundays, but employees still usually work 40 hours per week.
Denmark has a 37 hours working week, generally Monday to Friday.
In Estonia, the working week begins on Monday and ends on Friday. Usually a working week is 40 hours.
In Finland, the working week begins on Monday and ends on Friday. A full time job is defined by law as being at least 32 and at most 40 hours a week. For some professions, e.g. salespersons in retail shops and restaurants, the weekly hours may be calculated as an average in three to ten weeks depending on the employment contract.
The standard working week is Monday through Friday. Shops are also opened on Saturdays. Small shops may close on a weekday (generally Monday) to compensate their workers for having worked Saturday. By law, Prefets are allowed to authorise a small number of specific shops to open on Sundays; such as bars, cafes, restaurants and bakeries (which are traditionally opened every day but only during the morning on Sunday). Workers cannot be obliged to work on Sundays.
Most schools in France close on Wednesday, so it is common for students to attend school on Saturday.
Ireland has a working week from Monday to Friday with core working hours from 09:00 to 17:30. Retail stores usually open until 21:00 every Thursday. Many grocery stores, especially in urban areas, open till 21:00 or later, and some supermarkets and convenience stores may open 24/7. Shops are generally open all day Saturday and a shorter day Sunday (usually 10:00–12:00 to 17:00–19:00).
Latvia has a Monday to Friday working week, with normal maximum time of 40 hours.[3] Shops are mostly open also on weekends, many large retail chains having full working hours even on Sunday. Private enterprises usually work 9:00–18:00, however some other as well governmental institutions can have a shorter working day, ending at 17:00.
The workweek is Monday through Friday; 8 hours per day, 40 hours in total per week. Large malls are open on Saturday and Sunday, many small shops close on Sunday.
The workweek is Monday through Friday; 8 hours per day, 40 hours in total per week. Shops are almost always open on Saturdays and often on Sundays, especially food shops and shopping centres.
The workweek is Monday through Friday; 8 hours per day, 40 hours in total per week. Shops are open on Saturdays and Sundays.
In Sweden, the standard workweek is Monday through Friday, both for offices and industry workers. The standard workday is eight hours, although it may vary greatly between different fields and businesses. Most office-workers have flexible working hours, and can largely decide themselves on how to divide these over the week. The workweek is regulated by Arbetstidslagen (Work time law) to a maximum of 40 hours per week.[4] The 40-hour-week is however easily bypassed by overtime. The law allows a maximum of 200 hours overtime per year.[5] There is however no overseeing government agency, and the law is often cited as toothless.
Shops are almost always open on Saturdays and often on Sundays, supermarkets and shopping centres, so that employees there have to work. Traditionally, restaurants were closed on Mondays if they were opened during the weekend, but this has in later years largely fallen out of practice. Many museums do however still remain closed on Mondays.
The normal business working week is from Monday to Friday (35 to 40 hours depending on contract).
Laws for shop opening hours differ between Scotland and the rest of the UK. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland many shops and services are open on Saturdays and increasingly so on Sundays as well. In England and Wales the maximum opening times stores are allowed to open on Sundays are determined by the total floor space of a store.[6] In Scotland however there is no restriction in law on shop opening hours on a Sunday.
The EU Working Time Directive regulates that workers cannot be forced to work for more than 48 hours per week on average (although the UK allows individuals to opt out if they so choose). The minimum holiday entitlement is now 28[7] days per year but that includes Public Holidays. England & Wales have 8, Scotland has 9 and Northern Ireland has 10 permanent Public Holiday days per year[8][9]
The standard working week in Hong Kong is Monday to Friday for most local and international companies. A handful still work Saturdays, but the old six day week largely was abandoned following governmental changes in 2006, under which various administrative and judicial bodies moved to a five day week. However, many civil services and banks remain open to consumers on Saturday mornings, and most shops and restaurants open early and shut late, seven days a week.
In India, for some private enterprises, the standard full-time workweek begins on Monday and ends on Saturday with half a day, making it a 5½-day workweek, roughly 50 hours per week. The weekend is Sunday. However, government offices, newer institutions and IT & ITES companies follow the international 40-hour Monday-to-Friday workweek. In the ancient Vedic calendar, which pre-dates the Christian, Muslim and Jewish calendars, Sunday has always been the first day of the week with Saturday as the day of rest. Today only Nepal still follows this calendar workweek while India has switched to the one followed by most of the world for the convenience of business with other countries.[10]
Friday is the Muslim holy day when Jumu'ah prayers take place, and a number of countries have a Thursday–Friday weekend. Those countries are presently:
As of 2009, formal proposals are also being discussed in Yemen to change to a (single-day) Friday weekend. The coalition government formed on December 2011 issued a decree changing the weekend in Yemen. As of February 2012 the weekend in Yemen will be Friday–Saturday.
Reform in a number of Arab countries of the Persian Gulf in the 2000s led to a number of countries replacing the Thursday–Friday weekend with the Friday–Saturday weekend. This trend is to allow for respect of Fridays as the day for Jumu'ah prayers in Muslim countries while also having more working days to overlap with international financial markets.
Some Muslim-majority countries have Friday as the only weekend day and have a six day work week. Those countries are:
Other countries with Muslim-majority populations or significant Muslim populations nonetheless follow the Saturday–Sunday weekend. Those countries are:
Brunei Darussalam has a non-contiguous work week, consisting of Monday through Thursday plus Saturday. The days of rest are Friday and Sunday.
For most Israelis, the workweek begins on Sunday and ends on Thursday or Friday at noon[19] to accommodate Jewish Sabbath, which begins Friday night. The standard workweek is 43 hours per week, while a workday is 8 to 10 hours per day, depending on contract.[20]
The standard business office workweek in Japan begins on Monday and ends on Friday, 40 hours per week. This system became common between the years of 1980 and 2000. Before then, most workers in Japan worked full time from Monday to Friday, and half time on Saturday (called "Han don", means half-holiday. "don" from the Dutch word "Zondag"), 45–48 hours per week. On Friday many people say "HanaKin," which means "flowery Friday."
Mexico has a 48 working-hours workweek running from Monday to Friday. However, it is a custom in most industries and trades to work half day on Saturday, which is the day workers get paid. Shops and retailers open on Saturday and Sunday in most of the biggest cities.
Nepal follows the ancient Vedic calendar, which has the resting day on Saturday and the first day of the working week on Sunday.[10]
In New Zealand the working week is typically Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm or 9am to 5pm, but it is not uncommon for many industries (especially construction) to work half day Saturdays normally 8/9am to about 1pm. Supermarkets, malls, independent retailers, and increasingly, banks, remain open seven days a week.
Pakistan follows the standard international 40 hour working week, from Monday to Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being weekends.[17] However, in many schools and enterprises, Friday is usually considered a half-day. In 2010, the weekend for the public sector was reduced to Sundays only.[18]
In Russia the common workweek begins on Monday and ends on Friday with 8 hours per day.
Federal law defines a workweek duration of 5 or 6 days and not more than 40 hours. In all cases Sunday is a holiday. With a 5-day workweek the employer chooses which day of the week will be the second day off. Usually this is a Saturday, but in some organizations (mostly government) such day is a Monday. Through this they can serve people with a normal working schedule at Saturday.
There are non-working public holidays in Russia and all of them have a fixed day in the year. By law if such holiday coincides with ordinary day off, the second takes the place of the next working day (an official public holiday can't replace a regular day off). Each year the government can modify working weeks near public holidays for optimizing labor schedule. For example, when the usual five-day week, Tuesday or Thursday will be a public holiday, Monday or Friday will be an uncomfortable one-day gap between holidays. In the case with Tuesday, we can swap the Saturday day off and Monday working day, and get a reasonable week from Wednesday to Saturday. In the case with Thursday, we can swap Friday with Saturday of the next week or Saturday and next week Monday or use any other solution.
There are exceptions for some specific occupations like transport workers, shop assistants, security guards, etc. They usually use their own independent schemes without working weeks. For example, for daily services often uses the X-after-Y scheme (Russian: X через Y) when every worker X days uses for working and next Y days uses for resting.
In Thailand, the workweek is Monday through Friday for approximately 40 hours per week (8 hours per day), as in European countries. However, most shops and some private companies also work and are open on Saturday and Sunday.
The standard business office workweek in the United States is from Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. However, many businesses, particularly in the retail and service sectors, are open for business on Saturday, and half day on Sunday as well (except where prohibited by law).
Some US colleges and universities afford students the opportunity to choose classes scheduled Monday–Wednesday and Tuesday–Thursday, giving the students a day off on Friday. Some college students take advantage of this trend and go out to bars and nightclubs on Thursday nights, leading to the phrases "Thursday is the new Friday" and "Thirsty Thursday." [21]