We work hard in Switzerland – few can even say too much. But the time we spend in the office, at the construction site or at the dealership is only part of our day-to-day work. Housework, child and elderly care in the family, and volunteer work are the leading ones.
Collectively, such activities make up most of the time we work, with 9.8 billion hours a year. Paid work equates to just 7.6 billion hours a year. This is the result of the Federal Statistical Office’s (FSO) “satellite calculation of household production for 2020”.
434
billion francs is the monetary value of unpaid labor.
“The numbers show that volunteering is not only “nice to have” but also represents an effective and essential economic added value,” Ruedi Schneider, 31, program manager at Swiss nonprofit SGG, tells Blick. The BFS study calculates the fictitious figure by calculating how much a household would have to pay for the service provided in the current market.
1350
the hours we work for free each year.
61
Percentage of unpaid work done by women.
This is largely due to housework and raising children. This is still largely done by women. However, the trend is down. In 1997, women still held 67 percent of unpaid work in Switzerland.
75
percentage of unpaid work done at home.
621
We spend millions of hours volunteering every year.
“What people do through volunteer work is simply invaluable,” continues Ruedi Schneider of SGG. Consider that the state and cantons have to undertake and pay for all these duties themselves. Volunteer work is therefore a pillar of our society.