7 of the Best Countries to Live for a Work-Life Balance

It’s often hard to get an equal work-life balance. It’s a struggle that people face no matter where they live but it’s extremely important to health and well-being to get the best possible balance between work and spending time with family and friends doing the things you love. 

Getting the right balance is a battle no matter what country you reside in, however, some countries take more action in getting the balance right than others. 

If you’re thinking of moving abroad and want to move somewhere dedicated to work-life balance this list will help. According to the OECD Better Life Index, these ten countries are just some of the best at finding a balance between work and daily living. 

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is described as having great working conditions with many Dutch families sharing work responsibFilities and just 0.4% of employees working long hours. Compared to the average weekly working hours employees in the Netherlands work 2.3 hours less a week. 

In the Netherlands, full-time workers devote more of their day on average, to personal care and leisure than the OECD average of 15 hours. 

Slovenia

Slovenia is another country on the list because they devote over 62% of their day to personal care and activities. In addition to this, just 4% of employees work long hours which is still significantly under the average of 11%. 

Denmark

Denmark definitely makes the list because they have the shortest working week of all the countries that were surveyed. They work on average 39.7 hours in comparison to the overall average which was 44.3 hours. 

Another reason this country has a great work-life balance is that the state provides childcare for children up to six years of age, giving parents more flexibility when it comes to working and eases the pressure of having childcare costs. 

France

Work-life balance in France is actively encouraged, so much so French employees enjoy a minimum of five weeks holiday a year and by law the working week is set at 35 hours, however 7.7% of employees work longer hours than meant to but full-time workers still manage to spend on average 68% of their day eating, sleeping and socialising. 

Norway

Norway technically ranks number one for overall quality of work-life according to the Human Development Index and it’s common knowledge that Norwegians are dedicated to having a good work-life balance. The Norwegians generally have very high job security and just 2.9% of employees work more than they should. Salaries along with job benefits packages and job satisfaction are also usually high. 

Sweden

Rivals to Norway when it comes to work-life balance. Employees get plenty of time to swan off on holiday with six weeks holiday leave a year. Parents are also entitled to parental leave and get 480 days leave per child they have. Flexible working hours also adds to Swedish employees job satisfaction. 

Germany

Employers are always encouraged to offer flexi-time and reduced working hours for parents in Germany. They have a very generous parental leave policy meaning parents find it easier to juggle work and life. In general, the working hours are less but employees produce more during their working time and only about 4.3% of people work longer hours. 

So, if you’re looking to move abroad for work then it may be worth considering one of these countries to make sure that you’ll get a good work-life balance. There’s still a long way to go when it comes to improving work-life balance in many countries but many are now making adjustments to make life better for employees. Remember to purchase business travel insurance if you are ever jetting abroad for a company trip or meeting. Alternatively, insurance for working abroad could be a better solution if you’re working overseas on a more permanent basis.