A 48-hour limit would push the eurozone in "the opposite direction" from the rest of the world. "It is sending the wrong message," Rato said in an interview with Expansion.
The European parliament voted this month to end exemptions enjoyed by the UK and some other countries to the EU's working-time directive requiring people to work an average of no more than 48 hours a week.
"I don't know what social model they are defending by stopping people doing more," Rato said.
Rato said the IMF is sticking by its forecast that euro zone GDP will grow 1.6 pct this year, far below the fund's 3.6 pct forecast for the US.
"There is not an alternative to the US as the engine for growth," he said.
He also reiterated his view that the European Central Bank should be ready to cut interest rates if signs of "greater weakness" emerge. The ECB has ruled out such a reduction.
But the IMF chief said a paucity of structural reforms, rather than monetary policy, was the main obstacle to growth in Europe.
"(The region) is still imposing excessive restrictions on mobility and on initiatives to seek and find work, and on job-creating activities," Rato said.
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