Skip to main content

Parental life-work balance index

Which country offers the best environment to raise a family? Our research identifies the nations that are putting parental life-work balance first.

Relocate with Remote

How do we define parental life-work balance?

Life-work balance (yes, that way round) describes a steady equilibrium between personal and professional life. It is a framework that enables people to fulfil their job responsibilities and progress their careers while still making time for family, outside interests and other personal commitments. As many working parents will confirm, raising children is a full-time role, and combining childcare with paid work can be demanding — especially during a child’s early years. Parental life-work balance recognises this and emphasises the need for support that helps families manage caregiving and career demands. Parental life-work balance covers a broader set of issues than statutory policies alone, such as maternity and paternity leave. While legal leave and pay remain essential, considerations like childcare affordability, education, healthcare and the cost of living are equally important to parents. At Remote, we strongly support a harmonious life-work balance. Preserving that balance helps prevent burnout, improves productivity and contributes to a happier, healthier workforce. Taking into account multiple factors that affect working parents — such as parental leave policies, statutory annual leave entitlements, childcare costs and access to healthcare — we analysed 20 leading countries to determine which nations are prioritising parents and putting family first.

Top 20 leading countries for parental life-work balance

We selected 20 prominent countries based on population and global economic presence and gathered data on several family-related indicators, scoring each nation across each category. Each country was then given an overall index score, enabling us to rank the 20 from most to least family‑friendly.

Overall index score

norway-employment-guide.webp

1. Norway

Overall index score: 79.57

Like the Northern Lights that often illuminate its skies, Norway leads our ranking with an overall index score of 79.57. Norwegian workplaces place a strong emphasis on equality and life‑work balance, with many employers offering flexible working hours and remote work options.

Norway offers one of the most generous parental leave schemes in the world (working mums receive 54 weeks of paid maternity leave) and spends more than many countries on family benefits. Although the cost of living is comparatively high, Norway provides universal healthcare and a relatively generous statutory annual leave entitlement.

Norway employment guide
sweden-employment-guide.webp

2. Sweden

Overall index score: 78.01

Bordering Norway along about 1,600km, Sweden ranks just behind its neighbour for parental life‑work balance. The country shows a strong commitment to workplace wellbeing — many businesses offer “wellness allowances” — and Swedish work culture is known for openness, trust and flatter hierarchies.

Sweden is among the leaders in childcare provision, allocating a larger share of GDP to pre‑primary education than any other nation while keeping childcare costs affordable. The country also demonstrates a strong commitment to gender equality in its parental leave policies, having introduced gender‑neutral parental leave as early as 1974.

Sweden employment guide
denmark-employment-guide.webp

3. Denmark

Overall index score: 77.23

Demonstrating Scandinavia’s benchmark for workplace parental support, Denmark completes the top three of our index. Danes are often cited among the happiest people globally, a reflection of a healthy approach to work where outcomes matter more than hours or location.

As shown in our previous European Life-Work Balance Index, life‑work balance is ingrained in Danish culture; Danes benefit from generous statutory annual leave. The country is also widely regarded as one of the safest places for families, and public expenditure on childcare, family benefits and pre‑primary education is higher than in most other nations.

Denmark employment guide
colorado-employment-guide.webp

4. Spain

Overall index score: 72.62

Spain’s strong placement is unsurprising — it ranked second in our 2023 Global Work‑Life Balance Index — thanks to a working culture that places wellbeing first and roughly 3,000 hours of average annual sunshine. Many Spaniards still take a mid‑afternoon siesta, allowing them to recharge before returning to work.

No country in our index offers a more generous combined maternity and paternity leave package (including 12 weeks of paid paternity leave), and a relatively low cost of living makes Spain an affordable place for family life. The country’s statutory annual leave entitlement is also among the most generous in Europe.

Spain employment guide
new-zealand-employment-guide.webp

5. New Zealand

Overall index score: 71.76

The highest-ranked non‑European country on our list is the Antipodean nation of New Zealand. Voted the world’s most beautiful country in some surveys, New Zealand also topped our 2023 global index for its healthy balance between life and work. While hard work is valued, Kiwis equally prioritise time for activities outside work.

Although childcare can be relatively costly, New Zealand offers one of the higher minimum wages globally. It is widely regarded as a safe country to raise a family, and New Zealanders (or Kiwis) enjoy generous annual leave entitlements and high overall happiness levels.

New Zealand employment guide
poland-employment-guide.webp

6. Poland

Overall index score: 70.26

With a rich cultural history, Poland is not typically associated with work‑life balance — many organisations remain hierarchical and punctuality ('punktualność jest złotem') is highly valued — yet it is one of the most affordable places to raise children, thanks to a relatively low cost of living, economical childcare and strong state support for family benefits.

In addition to reasonably generous statutory maternity and paternity leave packages, parents in Poland can share up to 32 weeks of parental leave. It is important to note, however, that the country does not legally recognise LGBTQ+ couples, so same‑sex parents are not afforded equivalent rights.

Poland employment guide
finland-employment-guide.webp

7. Italy

Overall index score: 66.90

Italy’s lifestyle often attracts envy: celebrated cuisine, a cultural heritage rich in art and fashion, and pleasant weather for much of the year. Family ties are strong in Italy, with many households placing a high value on spending time together.

Work culture in Italy tends to be hierarchical with a “work hard, play hard” mentality, but the country can be favourable for working parents due to a relatively low cost of living and affordable childcare. Italian parents can make use of nine months of leave, with three months allocated to each parent and a further three months shared between them.

Italy employment guide
luxembourg-employment-guide.webp

8. France

Overall index score: 66.43

Like their Italian neighbours, the French are famed for enjoying the good life and savouring small moments. France is also known for maintaining a healthy balance between life and work, with one of the shortest average working weeks in Europe.

France offers the most generous statutory annual leave entitlement of any country on our list and makes the largest public financial contribution to family benefits — though this is partially offset by a relatively high cost of living and fairly steep childcare costs.

France employment guide
germany-employment-guide.webp

9. Germany

Overall index score: 65.57

As one of Europe’s largest and most populous countries, Germany is often associated with precision and pragmatism. These traits shape working life — Germans tend to have longer average working weeks than many neighbours — yet the country still provides reasonable support for working families.

In particular, Germany allocates a high proportion of GDP to family benefits and has comparatively low childcare costs versus countries like France and the United Kingdom. There is no government‑funded universal healthcare system, but most residents participate in statutory health insurance schemes.

Germany employment guide
japan-employment-guide.webp

10. Japan

Overall index score: 61.85

Completing the top 10 is the highest-ranked Asian country on our list. Japan’s work culture is frequently defined by intense dedication and long hours, which helps explain why it placed lower in our 2023 Japan is often characterized by extreme dedication to one’s career — with long working hours common — which is perhaps why it didn’t rank quite so highly in our 2023 Global Life-Work Balance Index, where it ranked 38th of the 60 countries analysed.

Although Japan’s holiday and parental leave arrangements are relatively restrictive, the country is regarded as one of the safest places for families. It also has a comparatively low average cost of living, and childcare costs are lower than in many other countries included in our index, making it Asia’s most family‑oriented nation.

Japan employment guide

Why do parental support policies matter?

Maintaining a healthy life‑work balance is especially challenging for working parents. The combination of job-related duties and childcare commitments often leaves little time to rest and recover. Nearly 9 in 10 families have at least one working parent, underlining the need for employers to recognise parents’ rights in the workplace. Parental support is a key element of a positive working culture, helping businesses attract and retain top talent who have, or plan to have, children. Company policy is only part of the picture. With remote work increasingly common, parents can relocate their families if another location offers a better future.

"Increasingly, parents are relocating to countries they believe can offer the best possible life for their children, often bringing their remote jobs with them. Designing policies for working parents is no longer solely a domestic concern but is also critical to attracting top international talent." Barbara Matthews, Chief People Officer at Remote.

Affordable childcare, investment in education and the overall cost of living are all vital considerations for working parents, and different family types weigh these factors differently — LGBTQIA+ couples with children, surrogacy arrangements and adoptive families each have particular needs. Ambitious organisations seeking the world’s best international talent will benefit from offering competitive and attractive paid parental leave policies, along with benefits programmes that include specific provisions to support working parents.

Get your Remote Relocation Guide

Learn how to simplify your planned relocation with this walkthrough guide. We set out the key steps for you and your employer to ensure a compliant, efficient and hassle‑free move.

Download the guide – Research: permanent-establishment risk guide · research/permanent-establishment-risk-guide

Download the guide

Why does parental life-work balance matter?

For parents, having an employer who understands the need for flexibility and workplace support is essential because it enables them to perform both as employees and caregivers. It allows working parents time to adapt to childrearing demands and, where relevant, helps them transition back to work after starting a family.

  • A healthy parental life‑work balance helps reduce burnout; overworked parents are more likely to be absent due to stress or illness.

  • A balanced family life can raise productivity, as parents who have time to recharge tend to be more focused during working hours.

  • Organisations that support parents can improve retention, since current and prospective parents are more likely to remain with family‑friendly employers.

  • Employers who demonstrate a commitment to parental life‑work balance may attract a larger candidate pool, as inclusive policies appeal to potential hires.

  • Companies that adopt flexible parental policies can enhance organisational agility, enabling quicker responses to unforeseen personnel challenges.

  • Fair, transparent parental policies help promote diversity and inclusion by ensuring employees’ rights are respected regardless of personal circumstances. Inclusive parenting policies are especially important because families take many forms. Employers should provide parental support irrespective of parents’ gender or sexual orientation, or whether a child has joined the family through surrogacy or adoption. Fortunately, a number of countries now recognise the rights of all parents — for example, Norway and Germany apply parental leave equally to adoptive and biological parents. However, progress remains uneven and some countries do not yet legally recognise LGBTQIA+ couples. Our detailed review of global parental support highlights how crucial fair policies and inclusive workplace cultures are to parents’ life‑work balance. This is not only about offering generous parental leave and affordable childcare but also about creating an environment where every family feels respected and supported. As work and family dynamics continue to evolve, it is clear that the route to a healthier, happier workforce lies in recognising and addressing the distinct needs of working parents — setting a global benchmark for parental support that benefits everyone.

Methodology

We analysed index data from 20 leading countries to identify which global players offer the best parental life‑work balance. Countries were chosen based on population and international economic presence — Russia, China, Ukraine and Israel were excluded because of ongoing socio‑political issues. The data were collected in February 2024. The index considered the following metrics:

  • Statutory maternity and paternity packages (lowest best)*
  • Statutory annual leave (total days of paid leave, including public holidays)*
  • Safety: Global Peace Index score (lowest best)
  • Cost of Living Index score (lowest best)
  • Childcare costs: price rankings by country of preschool (or kindergarten), full day, private, monthly for 1 child
  • OECD public expenditure on family benefits, in per cent of GDP (highest best)
  • OECD public expenditure on childcare and pre-primary education, in per cent of GDP (highest best)
  • Healthcare status (rating lowest best)
  • Happiness Index (highest best)

Metrics were weighted to reflect relative importance, producing an overall score out of 100 for each country. High‑to‑low or low‑to‑high data point weightings are indicated above. *Where a range was provided, the minimum value is shown.