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New survey finds Irish people are kind but lazy

Don’t like housework but help those in need

ANTOINETTE KELLY,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Thursday, April 14, 2011, 8:06 AM

Updated Thursday, April 14, 2011, 8:06 AM

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New survey says Irish people are among some of the kindest and laziest in the world

According to a new survey, carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Irish people are among some of the kindest and laziest in the world. The survey was taken over by citizens from 26 countries. It looked at exactly how people spend their days.

The results showed that 60 percent of Irish people helped someone in the last month. The average throughout the 26 countries was 39 percent. The Irish along with the U.S. have the highest number of people who volunteer outside the home.

The Irish spend more time everyday (62 minutes) caring for other family members. It also shows that the Irish have relatively high fertility.

Unfortunately the survey also discovered that the Irish are one of the laziest nations. They spend one and a half hours doing housework every day. That is compared to the two hours and eight minutes spent by the average household in the OECD. However Korea is much worse. They only clean the house for 19 minutes a day.

Currently Ireland's unemployment rate is over 14 percent.

Mexicans were found to be the hardest working people working ten hours per day. Belgians however only work seven hours while Ireland scored somewhere in the middle. Mexicans also do the most housework every day, a total of three hours.

Turkish people spent an average of 74 minutes per days cooking while people in the U.S. only spend 30 minutes per day in the kitchen.

Nster.com

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29 Comments

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georgeca | Mar 16, 2013, 07:56 PM EDT

I found this to be completely true. Working for a large multi-national firm, the irish employees do not pull their weight compared to other nations and this is at their own detriment. It is even worth it to pay the redundancy and cut your losses. Let the irish firms pay their own people have large families and low productivity. Other countries, unless a client absolutely depends on having local staffing should not have to absorb their laziness. I was sad to have come to this realization because they are fun loving and nice but mostly worthless as employees.

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alicat68 | Apr 20, 2011, 02:07 PM EDT

This is ridiculous! If this was my site I would not even dare to put this survey on. What an insult!! However, I do not agree with it whatsoever! Surveys are not facts they are just an uneducated guess!

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expatrick | Apr 16, 2011, 10:32 AM EDT

It is not the survey that is the problem. it the way the information is presented. never like for like comparisons and inflammatory words used to describe people.

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AoifeNicSeáin | Apr 16, 2011, 08:37 AM EDT

Who pays for such "surveys"? Methinks we could afford a lot more of lazyness, if we stop funding such nonsensical "work".

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Madeliene | Apr 15, 2011, 03:55 PM EDT

it is Bull-My father and mother and all of our people were born in Ireland. My father worked nights as a marine fireman and all day as a carpenter My mother was so clean she even washed the faces of the plants leaves with a sponge and water every day and pracically washed the face off our floors.! How the heck can we be lazy if we helped build America, My father and mother also built their own home here and owned property This is insulting as heck- can't you find anything else to print ?

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elektros | Apr 15, 2011, 01:35 PM EDT

Now there's a surprise. As I once heard an Irishman say "when God made time, he made plenty of it"!

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Ajreaper | Apr 15, 2011, 01:14 PM EDT

Maybe folks are not cleaning house for hours a day because they are out earning a wage in order to afford their house? Hours spent cleaning each day is about as silly a statistic as one could identify to determine laziness IMO.

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eibhleann7 | Apr 15, 2011, 11:20 AM EDT

They must not have seen all the Irish women on their hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor by hand at 1:30am, only to be up again at 5am to make the porridge and walk the dog. You can hardly get an Irish woman to sit for a cup of tea, never mind a meal. I know many an Irish man that work heavy labor in the same manner. Lazy? I think not. Less time doesn't mean less clean, it reflects efficiency.

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CitizenWhy | Apr 15, 2011, 09:44 AM EDT

As someone of Irish parentage, I would say that kind and lazy would describe me, sort of. I work very hard at accomplishing things for a love of craft, for the goodness and pleasure of something well done. So I'm not always lazy. Other motivations leave me cold, including power and money or approval or applause. And I can sit for hours and simply stare at beautiful scenes or think of beautiful people I have known. Laziness thus does have its rewards. ... Putting aside fanatical house cleaning in favor of spending time with family I consider a virtue, not a fault.

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skinnyryan2 | Apr 15, 2011, 09:37 AM EDT

Mexicans also do the most housework every day, a total of three hours, and sleep for the Rest !!! Irish spend one and a half hours doing housework every day shows you how efficient we have become. onya boyo !!

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macausheen | Apr 15, 2011, 08:18 AM EDT

I don't know if the Irish are lazy or just have a different concept of time. Whenever I was in Ireland I saw plenty of construction sites. Unfortunately, there was rarely anyone working at those sites; buildings, roads, whatever. I would be genuinely shocked when I found a crew actually on the job and working.

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Towngate | Apr 15, 2011, 07:48 AM EDT

....Or maybe just kinda lazy... (AK: your worst post ever!)

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BoraBora98 | Apr 14, 2011, 11:24 PM EDT

The Irish are, in my experience, some of the kindest and most generous people on the planet. About being lazy, I must disagree. I've never met nor heard of a lazy Irishman/woman.

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JimMcGarity | Apr 14, 2011, 11:07 PM EDT

Don't see how, we build America.

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Pittsburghkid | Apr 14, 2011, 09:02 PM EDT

These surveys are crap. Like most of the non-sense that comes out of this site.

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