These Are The Best Countries For Work-Life Balance

In this post-pandemic era, many employees work remotely. Logging on from home can help people manage their professional and personal responsibilities, allowing someone to pick up their children from school, for example, or squeeze in a workout during a lunch break.

But remote work has also blurred the line that marks where the workplace ends and home begins, with many workers hopping back online throughout the evening and into the night to complete their assigned tasks before a deadline. The struggle to achieve that elusive work-life balance remains.

An employer’s policies and workplace culture have a huge impact on how you are able to juggle work and a personal life, but the country you reside in also plays a decisive role. Laws regarding paid leave vary considerably across the globe, as does the average number of hours that workers put in.

Compare the Market Australia, a company that provides comparisons of insurance rates, recently ranked 40 countries by the work-life balance they offer. Each nation’s 2024 standing was determined by eight factors: the average number of hours worked per year, minimums regarding paid annual leave and sick leave, maternity and paternity leave lengths and rates, and the country’s happiness score, based on Gallup World Poll surveys.

“Each of the factors was weighted equally when producing the final score,” Hannah Norton, a spokesperson for Compare the Market, told HuffPost.

Nations in Europe dominated the entire first half of the list, “which indicates that the region does a great job of supporting employees in maintaining a positive work-life balance,” Norton said.

Spain clinched the No. 1 spot, offering workers 30 days of annual paid leave and six (or more) weeks of paid sick leave,