Does individualism lead to longer working hours?

Abstract Objective In this article, utilizing the European Social Survey (ESS), we empirically analyze the effect of individualism on working hours at the micro level. Method We use the European Social Survey (ESS), which is a biennial survey conducted in European countries. The ESS provides us five different proxies to measure individualism. In our empirical analyses, we first use proxies separately as our measure of individualism in the regressions. Second, we create a composite indicator for individualism by using the principal component analysis (PCA). We use two different methods for polychoric PCA. Results In four of our individualism proxies, we find that individualism is positively and significantly associated with working hours. Our PCA results also show that survey participants with higher individualistic attitudes tend to work longer hours. Conclusion We find robust empirical evidence that people who place greater emphasis on individualistic values have a tendency to work longer. The results show that individuals who give more importance to money, expensive things, success, recognition of achievements, showing abilities and being admired, and freedom on his/her decisions are inclined to work longer hours.