Work Schedules

Over the past three months living in Sevilla, there have been a couple of things that I have noticed that are very different from the lifestyle in the US, one being that the work schedules are very different. Spanish people, from what I have noticed, really value their time away from their jobs and spending that time with family and friends. They make sure that they have time throughout the day to relax and spend time with others that they love and care about. You can see this everywhere in Sevilla, from getting beers with friends at 2pm, closed restaurants during siesta time and reopen around 8pm, most grocery stores and restaurants are closed on Sunday are among some of the things that I have noticed. For a lot of things being closed on Sundays, Spain being a Catholic country also plays a role, however, Spanish families also take that time to spend it with ones that they care about. Sevilla football games are also something that will shut down the city. If there is an important match, especially for the Real Betis vs Sevilla game, there are no stores open except for some bars where you could watch the game. Before coming to Spain, I had heard about famous siesta time, but didn’t really think anything of it until I actually got here and needed to buy something on a Sunday and I couldn’t because all of the stores were closed. It was just something that I had never really thought about in the US, where the average work day is from 9-5, and most restaurants and stores are open every day of the week. One of the first things that we discussed in class was what is culture, which we defined as the ideas, values, and things that we cannot see. The different work schedules is a cultural difference from the US, as it is part of the environment that people have created in Spain. Even though at first I thought it to be a little different that people would want to take a break in the middle of the day for a couple of hours to chat with friends, I have come to appreciate that time and do exactly what it was meant for, to share that time with the friends that I have made abroad.

Street near Plaza de Cuba is empty in the middle of the afternoon because of siesta time.

https://perezlegalgroup.com/business-hours-in-spain/#:~:text=In%20general%20the%20working%20day,and%20retail%20(see%20below).