--- description: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will work to end the country's long-standing siesta tradition title: Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Ending the Siesta image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fdbebd58179c043/69888db4cd1bbaf13170018e/siesta-spain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Ending the Siesta  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 15, 2023 3:51 AM CUTPublished: Apr 5, 2016 11:44 AM CUT  Revellers take an afternoon siesta sleeping off the effects of partying during the fourth day of the San Fermin Running Of The Bulls festival, on July 9, 2014 in Pamplona, Spain. Revellers take an afternoon siesta sleeping off the effects of partying during the fourth day of the San Fermin Running Of The Bulls festival, on July 9, 2014 in Pamplona, Spain.Christopher Furlon/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 15, 2023 3:51 AM CUTPublished: Apr 5, 2016 11:44 AM CUT Speaking out about improving work-life balance, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he wants to establish a shorter work day—a cultural change that would bring shorter lunch breaks and, by extension, alter the country’s long-standing siesta tradition. “I will find a consensus to make sure the working day ends at 6 p.m.,” Rajoy said, [the _Independent_ reports](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spains-prime-minister-mariano-rajoy-set-to-drop-siesta-to-shorten-working-day-by-two-hours-a6967101.html "undefined"). Currently, it’s customary to begin work at 10 a.m. and break at 2 p.m. for a siesta for as long as three hours, ending the work day at 8 p.m.—a tradition that is at least partially attributable to an effort to escape midday heat. But some studies have shown that Spain’s productivity is lower than that of some of its European counterparts and have suggested that eliminating the siesta would improve the quality of life and raise low birth rates in the country, the _Independent_ reported. Rajoy also proposed bringing Spain back to Greenwich Mean Time, or turning the clocks back one hour. The Spanish leader, General Franco, matched Spain’s time to Germany in 1942 as a gesture of solidarity and it has not been changed since. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4281797/spanish-siesta-tradition-end/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4281797/spanish-siesta-tradition-end/"},"headline":"Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Ending the Siesta","datePublished":"2016-04-05T11:44:47.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T03:51:59.000Z","description":"The break in the day has been a long-standing tradition in the country","url":"https://time.com/4281797/spanish-siesta-tradition-end/","keywords":["Spain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fdbebd58179c043/69888db4cd1bbaf13170018e/siesta-spain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fdbebd58179c043/69888db4cd1bbaf13170018e/siesta-spain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pamplona Running Of The Bulls","caption":"Pamplona Running Of The Bulls","creditText":"Christopher Furlon/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4281797/spanish-siesta-tradition-end/","name":"Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Ending the Siesta"}}]}] ```