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Spain seeks time zone change

Shifting the time zone would give Spain "more time for the family, for training, for personal life and leisure and would avoid wasted time during the workday," the report said.

The report proposes that the government promote a more regular working day, "with a maximum one-hour break for lunch, preferably from 1 to 2 pm, which would also make the midmorning coffee break unnecessary".

Buqueras said that most public offices ignore existing regulations that require them to finish the working day at 6 pm - though some are starting to change.

Madrid town hall has imposed a 5 pm finish since 2010 - reining it in from 7 pm previously. This has led to "savings of about 30 percent in the electricity bill for the lights and computers", said spokesman Nacho Garcia Salgado.

In the private sector, the big energy company Iberdrola has imposed working hours of 7:15 am to 3:30 pm, where the day used to last until 6:30 pm.

That leaves workers "the afternoon free to attend to their personal lives", said Angeles Alcazar, the company's social projects manager.

Since then, "accidents at work have decreased by 10 percent" and productivity has risen, with500,000 work hours estimated to have been saved.

"There is still much left to do," Alcazar said.

Proponents of change say prime time broadcasts should be brought forward, particularly films and football matches, which sometimes kick off as late as 11 pm.