Rude awakening in Spain’s siesta culture

MADRID - Globalisation is killing off Spain's civilised custom of the siesta, according to a Spanish citizens' advice group.

With so many multinational companies operating in Spain, business people cannot disappear from their desks for hours, says the Independent Association. Instead, office hours must end earlier.

The life-enhancing after-lunch snooze may not be so easily banished, however.

Spanish Governments have long tried to bring the nation's idiosyncratic hours in line with the rest of Europe. But many Spaniards consider the idea of sitting at their desk between 2pm and 4pm simply ludicrous.

Serious business is done face-to-face over lunch. And then, obviously, a little downtime is needed before the rest of the afternoon.

"Few Spaniards take a siesta these days and studies show we sleep about one hour less every day than the average European," says Fernando Buqueras y Bach, director of the Independent Association. That is dangerous, he adds. Spaniards have high rates of accidents on the road, at home, and in the workplace.

Without a break, the Spanish working day can be exhaustingly long. "Morning" lasts until 2pm, 2.30pm or even 3pm (which Spaniards call "midday") before the long lunch. It's unusual to return to the office before 5pm, but you are expected to stay until 7pm or even 8pm.

In the summer many don't work at all in the afternoons, in a delightful scam called "intensive hours", which means workers are supposed to work from 8am until 3pm and can spend all afternoon by the pool - or asleep ...

- INDEPENDENT