Italy is a really poor example to use — it has a long tradition of bad governance (thus helping to create organized crime to protect ordinary people from the rapacity of the princelings in the 1800s), crime, and poverty. Switzerland is probably a better comparison.

Higher GDP per capita than the US, an economy based heavily on finance, high-value manufacturing, tourism, and innovation. Yet average working hours per annum are about 10% lower than the US figure. The trick is to keep productivity high while increasing free time.

Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Norway also have higher GDP per capita than the US with lower working hours, but I’m discounting them because they’re much more dependent on resource exports than the US.