Abolish siesta or not? That’s the question.
Published: 02 Apr. 2024, 19:39
AHN CHAK-HEE
The author is the head of the global cooperation team at the JoongAng Ilbo.
“A state that has restaurants open at 1 a.m. is not responsible,” Spain’s Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, said. “It’s crazy to continue extending the open hours until who knows what time.”
She faces backlash after suggesting an earlier closing time for restaurants in a country where people are still eating at 10 p.m. The left-wing minister’s comment irked many Spaniards who are used to the late-hour dinner. Right-wing politicians immediately attacked her. Diaz wants “everyone to go home and read the Communist manifesto by lamplight with a cup of tea,” said Alfonso Serrano, a right-wing lawmaker.
Among the European countries, Spain is the country where daily routines continue latest. Spaniards have the custom of a siesta, stopping work around 2 p.m. at the peak of sunlight and resuming work around 5 p.m. During this time, restaurants and shops close, and streets become quiet. In a farming society, the siesta was the time to take a break from labor, take a nap and recharge. According to a survey in 2016, only 18 percent of Spaniards still keep this practice. And yet, the midday break time has become a fixed practice in Spain.
After the siesta, businesses operate until 8 p.m., and people have dinner late accordingly, followed by a sobremesa, the relaxing time to have conversations over drinks after a meal. Restaurants cannot close early. Considering rising labor costs, late-night transportation costs due to late working hours and various physical and mental health issues associated with working late nights, Minister Diaz’s argument is not unreasonable.
Spanish workers are asking to reduce the existing 40-hour work week to 37.5 hours. Based on studies showing that longer working hours reduce productivity, people are debating over the unique working hours in Spain for the last few years. The siesta seems to be an obstacle in the discussion on the working hour reduction.
Perception and lifestyle are difficult to change at once. Controversies over lifestyles that have become a part of the culture are sensitive topics. It is interesting to see how Spain will attain changes as improvements in productivity and a reduction in working hours clash with tradition.
The author is the head of the global cooperation team at the JoongAng Ilbo.
“A state that has restaurants open at 1 a.m. is not responsible,” Spain’s Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, said. “It’s crazy to continue extending the open hours until who knows what time.”
She faces backlash after suggesting an earlier closing time for restaurants in a country where people are still eating at 10 p.m. The left-wing minister’s comment irked many Spaniards who are used to the late-hour dinner. Right-wing politicians immediately attacked her. Diaz wants “everyone to go home and read the Communist manifesto by lamplight with a cup of tea,” said Alfonso Serrano, a right-wing lawmaker.
Among the European countries, Spain is the country where daily routines continue latest. Spaniards have the custom of a siesta, stopping work around 2 p.m. at the peak of sunlight and resuming work around 5 p.m. During this time, restaurants and shops close, and streets become quiet. In a farming society, the siesta was the time to take a break from labor, take a nap and recharge. According to a survey in 2016, only 18 percent of Spaniards still keep this practice. And yet, the midday break time has become a fixed practice in Spain.
After the siesta, businesses operate until 8 p.m., and people have dinner late accordingly, followed by a sobremesa, the relaxing time to have conversations over drinks after a meal. Restaurants cannot close early. Considering rising labor costs, late-night transportation costs due to late working hours and various physical and mental health issues associated with working late nights, Minister Diaz’s argument is not unreasonable.
Spanish workers are asking to reduce the existing 40-hour work week to 37.5 hours. Based on studies showing that longer working hours reduce productivity, people are debating over the unique working hours in Spain for the last few years. The siesta seems to be an obstacle in the discussion on the working hour reduction.
Perception and lifestyle are difficult to change at once. Controversies over lifestyles that have become a part of the culture are sensitive topics. It is interesting to see how Spain will attain changes as improvements in productivity and a reduction in working hours clash with tradition.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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