It's a bit complex, i'll explain:
I have to clock 35 hours a week, 9 AM to 2 PM monday-friday are mandatory, then at least 8 of the rest have to be in the afternoon (between 4 and 8 PM) whenever I choose to do them. I usually work 8:00 AM - 2 PM daily, then 4 to 8 PM mondays and tuesdays. Some weeks i'll do 4-6 PM from monday to thursday instead.
That means I give away a couple of hours each week, but I like my job well enough and that helps in keeping HR off my back when I need some leeway, because they always owe me once they go through the records.
I have a ton of holidays too.
That fits well our eating patterns: very light breakfast, a coffee and a small treat around 11 PM, the heaviest meal of the day at 2:30, then "merienda" about 6 PM, dinner at 9PM
Most spaniards work closer to a 40 hour week with a similar schedule to mine in small towns, but as I said that's not possible in Madrid or Barcelona, where people work more like 8AM to 4:30PM and eat at work. People complain if they are forced to follow the traditional schedule in those big cities.
And then there's unpaid overtime and crappy work conditions too. I used to put 50-60 hours/week in an internet boom era meatgrinder before I landed my current cushy position.
If you are really thinking about moving, bear in mind that our salaries are pretty much stuck in the crappy zone, while our prices are going all european since the introduction of the Euro.
