Work-Life-Balance 2024

Those who still have to earn their living through work – and that is most emigrants – are interested in the so-called work-life balance. Simply put, work-life balance shows where you get more out of your life, for example, you spend less time at work each week. After all, you don’t live to work, you work to live.

Remote (Remote’s global HR plateform) has investigated this and published the top 60 countries with the best work-life balance in 2024. This is a combination of important workplace factors such as statutory annual leave, paid maternity leave and average working hours per employee.

The index shows which of the countries with the highest GDP in the world have the best work-life balance in 2024. If you are considering moving to another country for work reasons, the following countries are leading the way.

The 30 Countries with the Best Work-Life Balance 2024

The following 30 countries achieved the highest score of 100 in the global study, based on a combination of key workplace factors such as statutory annual leave, paid maternity leave and average working hours per worker ( scores in brackets ).

New Zealand (80.76)
Ireland (77.89)
Belgium (73.45)
Denmark (73.45)
Canada (72.75)
Germany (71.84)
Finland (71.55)
Australia (71.35)
Norway (70.85)
Spain (70.60)
Netherlands (69.10)
Portugal (67.62)
France (66.62)
Sweden (65.35)
Great Britain (65.12)
Czech Republic (64.90)
Poland (62.77)
Austria (61.87)
Argentina (61.26)
Greece (61.08)
Romania (60.02)
Hungary (59.96)
Italy (59.83)
Japan (57.61)
Brazil (56.88)
Singapore (56.84)
Switzerland (56.51)
Taiwan (53.09)
Saudi Arabia (50.80)
Peru (50.46)

Here are some factors that speak for four of these countries:

New Zealand
New Zealand has a very strong economy that consistently ranks high in terms of quality of life, making the country an attractive location for business. The land of the long white cloud is home to skilled workers in a wide range of industries. The largest sector is agriculture, with dairy farming leading the way. But manufacturing, services, construction and tourism are also growing. The Minister of Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety has announced that the minimum wage for adults will increase to $23.15 per hour starting April 1, 2024. That’s an increase of 45 cents per hour from the current hourly rate of $22.70.

Minimum wages for apprentices and entry-level workers will also increase to $18.52 per hour, remaining at 80 percent of the adult minimum wage. This is an increase from the current minimum wage of $18.16 per hour. For a worker who works 40 hours a week, raising the minimum wage to $23.15 an hour means earning $18 more per week before taxes. All amounts are before taxes and statutory deductions, such as income tax, student loan repayments and maintenance payments.

Denmark
In Denmark, only around one percent of employees work very long hours in paid employment, which is significantly less than the OECD average of ten percent. So-called flex jobs have been introduced here to accommodate employees who work at a different pace or need shorter working hours.

Portugal
Portuguese labour law is not regulated by a single law. The main sources are the Portuguese Constitution, which sets out the fundamental rights and principles for both employees and employers, European legislation, the Portuguese Labour Code and the Regulation on the Labour Code. In addition, collective agreements and individual agreements also play a role.

Most of the provisions of the Portuguese Labour Code are binding and cannot be modified by collective bargaining or by agreement between the parties. All workers in Portugal are protected by Portuguese labour law.

Italy
In Italy, a great deal of emphasis is placed on leisure time, with full-time workers devoting on average 69 percent of their day, or 16.5 hours, to personal care and leisure (contact with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.) – more than the OECD average of 15 hours.

In addition, Italy offers other advantages such as a milder climate in winter and more stable bathing weather in summer. By car, you can also quickly visit family and friends in your old homeland.