Which countries have the best work-life balance?

Report looks at paid leaves, hours of work, 'happiness' score

BY Abigail Adriatico 15 Mar 2024

Spain is revealed to be the best country in the world for work-life balance.

Spain topped the rankings as it offers 30 paid annual leave days, more than six weeks of paid sick leave, and full compensation for parental leave as well as 16 weeks for maternity and 12 weeks for paternity leave for employees, according to a report by Compare the Market AU.

Luxembourg followed Spain with 1,473.3 working hours, a happiness score of 7.23, 20 weeks of full compensation maternity leave, and two weeks of paternity leave. France takes the third spot with 30 paid leaves per year, more than six weeks of paid sick leave, and paid maternity and paternity leaves.

“It’s important to be able to have down time that you enjoy. While you may have busy periods in your job, if you find you’re regularly working late, or are feeling stressed and anxious; then it’s time to take a step back and speak to your manager,” said Steven Spicer, executive general manager of health at Compare the Market AU.

Work-life balance includes maternity leave, hours of work

The Netherlands and Finland complete the top five with respective happiness scores of 7.4 and 7.8. Bulgaria is the only country that offered more than a year off for paid maternity leave with 58 weeks alongside a 90% compensation rate.

Meanwhile, Greece offers 43 weeks of paid maternity leave with a rate of 61.8%.

Rank	Country	Hours Worked (Yearly)	Paid Annual Leave (Days)	Paid Sick Leave (Weeks)	Paid Maternal Leave (Weeks)	Paid Maternal Leave Rate (% of wage)	Paid Paternal Leave (Weeks)	Paid Paternal Leave Rate (% of wage)	Happiness Score	Total Score
1	Spain	1,643.5	30	6+	16	100	12	100	6.44	6.563
2	Luxembourg	1,473.3	25	6+	20	100	2	100	7.23	6.040
3	France	1,511.4	30	6+	16	95.7	2	96	6.66	5.841
4	Netherlands	1,427.0	20	6+	16	99	1	100	7.40	5.809
5	Finland	1,498.1	30	6+	17	74.8	3	63	7.80	5.773
6	Bulgaria	1,618.7	20	6+	58	90	2	90	5.47	5.640
7	Slovenia	1,619.0	20	6+	15	100	4	100	6.65	5.636
8	Estonia	1,770.4	28	6+	20	100	2	100	6.46	5.619
9	Lithuania	1,624.2	28	6+	18	77.6	4	77.6	6.76	5.537
10	Austria	1,443.7	30	6+	16	100	4	18	7.10	5.471

Germany has the lowest number of work hours with only 1,340.9 per year, according to Compare the Market AU. This was followed by Denmark with only 1,371.6 hours and Norway with 1,424.6 hours. On the other side of the spectrum, Columbians worked 2,405.5 hours per year followed by Mexicans with an average of 2,226.3 hours and Chile with 1,962.8 hours.