Washington Post: "Greeks Work Harder Than Germans"

The writer references the New York Time's 2013 proclamation: "If ignominy were tax revenue, Greece might be a big step closer to ending its budget problems". She sites David Brook's 2011 New York Times column regarding productive countries like Germany: "...believe in a simple moral formula: effort should lead to reward as often as possible....Self-control should be rewarded while laziness and self-indulgence should not."

Sullivan states that in reality, Greeks work hard. She refers to a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's analysis that determined the nation's citizens work more hours than any other European state, and even more than Americans.

The Parisian agency revealed that the Hellenic workforce generated an average of 2,034 hours of work in 2012, more than any of the other 34 nations studied. Industrialized countries ranked lower, with Germany achieving 1,397 hours and Switzerland with 1,619 hours. The average of all the nations resulted in 1,765 hours.

The Washington Post journalist described that while Greek citizens work many hours, they are not wealthy and have to put in additional hours just to make it. Almost 25% of the Greek population is at a risk of poverty, as reported by the International Business Times, who offered ELSTAT statistics. The financial news portal also discussed Greece's recent wage cuts that are less than the European average.

(Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/16/greeks-work-harder-than-germans-who-knew/)