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Spanish lawmakers want to shift the country back a time zone and impose more healthy, family-friendly working hours: a tricky job in a land known for siestas and late-night partying.
A typical Spaniard's working day? "Start at 9 am, stop at 2 pm to eat until 4 or 5, then start again and work until about 8 pm," said Nuria Chinchilla, a specialist in work and family life at Spain's IESE Business School.
"No one expects you home before 9 pm."
Some warn this lifestyle - which dates from around the 1940s when poor Spaniards would work two jobs to make ends meet - is harming their personal lives now.
It leads to a lower quality of life, less time spent with the family and lower birth rates, more accidents at work, and more school dropouts because children go to bed too late, the economist said.
Her words echo warnings in a report recently approved by the parliament, which called for Spain to turn back its clocks, jumping west an hour to the same time zone as Britain and Portugal.
Although it lies far to the west of Europe in a line with those countries, mainland Spain has been in the same time zone as central Europe since 1942.
Ignacio Buqueras, chairman of the commission that drew up the report, said Spain needs a "rational timetable ... eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for other activities".
"The fact that Spain for more than 71 years has not been in the correct time zone causes us to get up too early and sleep on average one hour less than the time recommended by the World Health Organization," said his report.
Shifting the time zone would give Spain "more time for the family, for training, for personal life and leisure and would avoid wasted time during the workday," the report said.
The report proposes that the government promote a more regular working day, "with a maximum one-hour break for lunch, preferably from 1 to 2 pm, which would also make the midmorning coffee break unnecessary".
Buqueras said that most public offices ignore existing regulations that require them to finish the working day at 6 pm - though some are starting to change.
Madrid town hall has imposed a 5 pm finish since 2010 - reining it in from 7 pm previously. This has led to "savings of about 30 percent in the electricity bill for the lights and computers", said spokesman Nacho Garcia Salgado.
In the private sector, the big energy company Iberdrola has imposed working hours of 7:15 am to 3:30 pm, where the day used to last until 6:30 pm.
That leaves workers "the afternoon free to attend to their personal lives", said Angeles Alcazar, the company's social projects manager.
Since then, "accidents at work have decreased by 10 percent" and productivity has risen, with500,000 work hours estimated to have been saved.
"There is still much left to do," Alcazar said.
Proponents of change say prime time broadcasts should be brought forward, particularly films and football matches, which sometimes kick off as late as 11 pm.
The shake-up would be particularly difficult in the current economic crisis, when "for economic reasons, salaries are being cut and workdays are getting longer", said Angels Valls, a researcher in labor relations at the business school ESADE.
"It is a cultural matter, and the historical roots are hard to change."
About the broadcaster:
Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Why do we laugh? 为什么我们会笑?
Closing the doors on paradise 为生态修复关闭旅游天堂岛屿
In the blink of an eye 一眨眼之间
Bye bye Big Ben's bongs 与大本钟的钟声暂时告别
The university of life 生活经历
Like reality, only better? 喜欢现实, 只会更好?
Barefaced 厚颜无耻的
A cashless society 无现金社会
The daily commute 每天上下班
The last/final straw 忍无可忍,使人最终崩溃的一击
White / blue-collar worker 白领,蓝领
In defence of shyness 为害羞的人辩护
Too much stuff 物质主义和简约主义
Pull something out of the hat 突施妙计
Bust a gut 拼了命地工作
The problem with big brains 聪明大脑所带来的问题
It's on the cards 这件事十有八九会发生
Would you let your baby sleep in a box? 你愿意让自己的宝宝在盒子里睡觉吗?
Are you ready for your exam? 考试,你准备好了吗?
Are you addicted to your phone? 你是不是玩手机上瘾了?
Lights! Camera! English! 灯光,摄像机,英语!
The good of gardening 园艺疗法益心养神
Get someone's goat 火冒三丈
Bored at work? Sue the boss! 工作无聊怪老板?
Young and in business 年轻人创业从商
To fall at the first hurdle 跌倒在第一关
Are you a team player? 你是一名具有团队精神的人吗?
Drama queen 小题大做的人
Pain in the neck 令人讨厌的事情或人
Brain training 如何训练大脑?
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