We’ve noticed that people in this region (Spain and Portugal) enjoy life a lot. Probably more than even other Europeans who also have mastered taking breaks to enjoy life. The daily siesta time seems to be a good way for them to escape what must be really hot temps in the summer (it’s been mostly between 65-75 for the highs since we’ve been traveling). We wondered if the siesta might be a bit seasonal but it doesn’t appear to be.
But we’ve also noticed differences between Spain and Portugal in their time off work patterns. For you researchers reading this, I’m about to heavily generalize what we’ve seen and experienced - clearly it won’t hold true for all. We are holding the belief that the efficiency of Portugal must be relatively low. However, this appears to be balanced by the Portuguese being very happy people. We’ve seen some store hours to indicate that some people start work at 8 am (usually grocery stores and places where there is a need to have employees at work standardized hours). But we’ve seen more places that have opening hours at 10am (any sort of antique store, tourist store, clothing stores, tours, landscapers, construction workers, etc.). But then, there is a mandatory coffee break at 10 or 10:30 where they either close down or just disappear for 30 minutes to an hour. Then they work until lunch. For most, lunch in Portugal starts around 12 and ends about 1-1:30. This lunch break is later in Spain, starting closer to 1 or 1:30. And we didn’t notice the overt and long coffee breaks so much in Spain. Then there is the afternoon siesta time where everything closes. Grocery stores mostly stay open but that’s about it. The actual closing time is a bit of a mystery to me. Some just close after lunch. Others put in another couple of hours. But most stores open back up at 5 and stay open until 8 or 9pm. Except restaurants that are open from 11 or 12 until 2. Then you can get cocktails at some from 4-6 or 7. But most don’t open back up for cooking until 7pm with the biggest crowds coming in at 8ish. In Spain they don’t reopen at all until 8. So for anyone wanting to find a 6pm dinner, forget it. But my point of all this isn’t to talk about only food. It’s that we’ve noticed a definite lower level of working hours in Portugal vs other countries. I don’t know what impact it’s having on their productivity, but I’m guessing it is also lower. But every single person we’ve met in Portugal is super kind and appears happy to try to spend a few minutes talking to us. Sometimes you can’t get them to stop talking. They smile a lot and try to practice their English skills. And those that don’t speak English, tell you something in Portuguese with a big smile. They are genuinely happier than people I’ve met in any other country. So it makes us wonder what’s the right balance? Is more productivity better or more happiness?? We don’t have an answer to this but this bus perfectly summarized what we’ve seen here:
SERVICE OCCASIONAL
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