Is it the end of the Spanish siesta?

A legacy of long and idle afternoons dreamily dozing the day away after a heavy lunch and too much wine has been part of the Spanish culture for many, many years. Time does seem to move at a different speed in Spain, and for those visiting the country who are used to a faster “9 to 5” lifestyle, the days can seem interminably longer.

In the summer months, when temperatures soar relentlessly, Spain’s afternoon standstill makes the baking days more bearable and, instead of cursing the Spanish for everywhere being shut, citizens and visitors alike really appreciate the value of the Spanish siesta. 

Recently however there have been reports that many want to abolish the siesta and adopt a working schedule that is more in keeping with the rest of Europe. Spain is under increasing pressure to conform to shorter lunch breaks like those in other EU countries and many businesses have begun working through the siesta hours. Perhaps this pressure came as a consequence of the country’s upswing, which created more jobs than any other country in the EU.

Despite the amount of opposition for ceasing the siesta, change has unfortunately already taken root. An increasing amount of larger companies are cutting lunch breaks to two hours and more and more supermarkets are staying open all day. Nowadays it is easy to find a convenience store that is open during the afternoon – a radical difference compared to a decade ago.

Although a certain amount of change has been implemented, it is hard to imagine that the siesta, which is so ingrained into the Spanish way of life, will be abandoned entirely. Even the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that it is the work schedule what distinguishes Spaniards and “the siesta is what defines us.”

Although many multinational firms and the country’s growing corporate culture spurn the idea of daytime dozing, erroneously regarding it as “unproductive”, the majority of Spaniards who promptly close their shutters every day at 2pm and emerge two hours later, is proof that Spain has little interest in abandoning their source of national pride.