do a nontrivial number of people in those parts of Europe work at soul-crushing jobs with horrible bosses?
Yes they do, at least when I meet people outside my bubble, such as someone working at Billa.
I think they do it simply because the rent is high (relatively to the income at the place where they live).
But working literally 60-hour weeks would be illegal. There are ways how employers try to push the boundary: They can make you do some overtime (but there is a limit how much total overtime per year is allowed). They can try to convince you that some work you do for them technically does not count as a part of your working time (e.g. your official working time is 8:00-16:30, but you need to arrive at 7:45 to get ready for your work, and at 16:30 the shop is officially closed, but you still need to clean up the place, check everything and lock the door, so you are actually leaving maybe at 17:00); I think they are lying about this, but I am not sure. Anyway, even these tricks do not get you to 60 hours per week.
Yes they do, at least when I meet people outside my bubble, such as someone working at Billa.
I think they do it simply because the rent is high (relatively to the income at the place where they live).
But working literally 60-hour weeks would be illegal. There are ways how employers try to push the boundary: They can make you do some overtime (but there is a limit how much total overtime per year is allowed). They can try to convince you that some work you do for them technically does not count as a part of your working time (e.g. your official working time is 8:00-16:30, but you need to arrive at 7:45 to get ready for your work, and at 16:30 the shop is officially closed, but you still need to clean up the place, check everything and lock the door, so you are actually leaving maybe at 17:00); I think they are lying about this, but I am not sure. Anyway, even these tricks do not get you to 60 hours per week.