The City of London is the area in England working the longest hours, with 31.9 percent of residents working 49 hours or more, according to a new assessment of the long-hours culture. Another area of London – Kensington and Chelsea – is second with 26.9 percent of residents working 49 hours or more, while Westminster, also in London, is third with 24.8 percent.
All told, eight of the ten areas working the longest hours are in London, with Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, ranking as the area working the longest hours outside of London. England’s national average is 34.03 hours per week.
The data comes from a survey company called SmartSurvey, who analysed government census data to find the areas in England that work the longest hours based on the percentage of residents working 49 hours or more each week. The mean hours worked each week per person was also found by dividing the estimated total hours worked by residents living in an area by the number of residents who work either full or part-time.
The top 20 positions are:
| Rank | Local Authority | Percentage of workers working 49 or more hours per week | Estimated average weekly hours worked per worker |
| 1. | City of London | 31.88% | 38.68 |
| 2. | Kensington and Chelsea | 26.9% | 36.17 |
| 3. | Westminster | 24.8% | 36.23 |
| 4. | Camden | 19.56% | 35.22 |
| 5. | Hammersmith and Fulham | 19.25% | 36.03 |
| 6. | Wandsworth | 18.81% | 36.68 |
| 7. | Richmond upon Thames | 18.09% | 35.11 |
| 8. | Islington | 17.91% | 35.86 |
| 9. | Richmondshire | 17.82% | 34.66 |
| 10. | Elmbridge | 17.76% | 34.71 |
| 11. | Eden | 17.59% | 33.75 |
| 12. | Rutland | 15.96% | 34.19 |
| 13. | St Albans | 15.52% | 34.60 |
| 14. | Ryedale | 15.40% | 33.72 |
| 15. | Tower Hamlets | 15.37% | 35.07 |
| 16. | Isles of Scilly | 15.35% | 33.97 |
| 17. | Brentwood | 15.23% | 34.70 |
| 18. | Southwark | 15.15% | 35.25 |
| 19. | South Holland | 15.14% | 35.36 |
| 20. | Sevenoaks | 15.13% | 34.20 |
| England | 11.46% | 34.03 |
From the above table, Camden ranks as the area of England working the fourth longest hours, with 19.6 percent of residents working 49 hours or more each week. The borough, situated in north London, sees the average person working 35.2 hours per week.
With 19.3 percent of residents working 49 hours or more each week, Hammersmith and Fulham works the fifth longest hours in England. Workers living in Hammersmith and Fulham are estimated to work 36.1 hours each week. The borough is situated in western central London on the north bank of the Thames.
Wandsworth is the area of England working the sixth longest hours, with Richmond upon Thames residents working the seventh longest hours. The area of England working the eighth longest hours is Islington and Richmondshire works the ninth longest hours in England. Rounding out the top ten areas in England working the longest hours is Elmbridge.
The estimated mean weekly hours worked per worker figures were obtained by multiplying the median hour value for each work hour category (7.5, 23, 39.5, and 49 hours) by the number of people in that area in each respective category to get each category’s estimated total hours worked. These values were combined and then divided by the total number of people in work in each area to get the estimated average hours worked.
