Global life-work balance index 2025

Overall index score: 86.59

If you’re planning to move overseas for work in 2025, few places beat New Zealand. Indeed, “The Land of the Long White Cloud” (the English rendering of the country’s Māori name Aotearoa) stays at the top of our index for a third straight year, and it even improved on its 2024 score following a modest rise in the minimum wage.

What makes New Zealand so favourable for life-work balance? Being surrounded by diverse, spectacular scenery helps, but the country doesn’t lead every metric we checked; instead it posts consistently strong results across the study — particularly for statutory annual leave, public happiness, safety and minimum wage (where it ranks the second-highest among the countries analysed).

Hard work is regarded as important in Kiwi culture, yet as the New Zealand government’s guide to the NZ way of working points out, “Life is for living and employers generally respect that.”

Overall index score: 81.17

Ireland keeps its #2 spot in 2025. Known worldwide for its warm, welcoming people and famous for St. Paddy’s Day, the Emerald Isle — alongside Austria — is judged the safest country to live and work in among those we analysed.

It performs strongly across many measures, featuring a relatively high minimum wage and a generous maternity leave scheme by international standards (26 weeks at a 70% income payment rate). Workplace culture in Ireland generally favours a healthy mix of hard work and a pronounced sense of community and camaraderie.

Overall index score: 75.91

Having secured a top-three place — after sharing third with Denmark last year — life-work balance is becoming as much a hallmark of Belgian life as chocolate, waffles and beer. Part of that is because Belgium ranks among Europe’s highest minimum-wage countries, exceeded only by the United Kingdom and Germany.

Belgium also posts strong results for statutory sick pay and maternity payment rates, and its happiness score of 6.91/10 sits among the continent’s best. Belgians tend to have relatively short working weeks — about 34.1 hours on average — compared with many other countries.

Overall index score: 74.37

Germany climbed two places from 2024 to reach fourth in our 2025 life-work balance index. Punctuality and professionalism are often described as “German values,” but there is also a strong focus on working smarter rather than harder — which helps explain its reputation for a good life-work balance in Europe.

Several factors underlie Germany’s improved 2025 score, and a key change was an increase in statutory sick pay, particularly for parents. We also observed a slight rise in overall happiness, a drop in average weekly hours worked, and an improvement in the country’s LGBTQ+ inclusivity since 2024.

Overall index score: 74.20

Norway recorded the largest climb among our top ten, moving from ninth in 2024 to fifth in 2025. This gain stems chiefly from an extension of parental leave options (Norway offers the most generous parental leave of any country we reviewed). There was also a modest reduction in working hours — at 32.6 hours per week, Norway has one of the shortest average work weeks in Europe.

Norwegian work culture tends to favour equality and cooperation, which is reflected in its position as the most LGBTQ+-inclusive country on our list. Like many Nordic nations, Norway is also considered one of Europe’s happiest countries.

Overall index score: 73.76

Danes have long been associated with a clear separation between personal and professional life. Many point to Denmark’s strong emphasis on balance as a reason it consistently ranks among the world’s happiest nations — and the Danes’ fondness for the hygge lifestyle may also play a part.

Despite dropping out of the top three this year (Denmark shared third place with Belgium in 2024), the country remains synonymous with a high quality of life and ranks second to Finland for public happiness. It also records one of the shortest average working weeks at 32.5 hours and is regarded as both very safe and notably LGBTQ+-friendly.

Overall index score: 72.89

Canada slipped two places this year but remains the only country from the Americas to make the top ten for life-work balance. In stark contrast with its neighbour to the south (the United States ranked 59th of the 60 countries reviewed), “The Great White North” posts reliable scores across many of the metrics in our 2025 life-work balance study.

For example, Canada ranks among the world leaders for statutory sick pay and also performs well for public safety and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Additionally, it provides a universal, government-funded healthcare system — something the U.S. does not have.

Workplaces in Canada generally prize punctuality and reliability, while employees usually keep a clear boundary between work and family life.

Overall index score: 71.53

Australia is widely seen as relaxed, with Aussies generally adopting a “no-worries” outlook. That attitude is reflected in many workplaces, which value openness and egalitarianism. The country continues to focus on employee wellbeing and retains eighth place in our life-work balance rankings for a second consecutive year.

Although Australia trails its Antipodean neighbour New Zealand in most categories, it recorded the highest minimum wage among the countries we examined — equivalent to $18.12 in U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly for a nation with a relaxed culture (and plenty of sunshine), Australians tend to work shorter hours, averaging 32.29 per week compared with many others.

Overall index score: 71.42

Finland completes the top ten and is “officially” the happiest country in the world in 2025, according to a recent study. Indeed, Finns have topped that list for the past eight years, a result often linked to high levels of societal trust and freedom as well as a close relationship with nature and the outdoors.

Finland did drop two places in our global life-work balance ranking this year — partly due to a slight fall in LGBTQ+ inclusivity — but it keeps its top-ten position thanks to the strong happiness score, generous statutory annual leave, high sick-pay rates and a relatively short average working week.

Overall index score: 70.53

Is the traditional Spanish “siesta” image a dated, inaccurate national stereotype? Possibly (it’s believed that most Spaniards never take a midday nap), yet the country still maintains a broadly healthy approach to work and life and keeps its place in the top ten for a second year.

Although Spain’s public happiness rating is relatively low compared with some other European nations, it performs well across most measured factors. Spain ranks as the second-most LGBTQ+-friendly country of the 60 we analysed, and Spanish workers benefit from generous annual leave entitlements and maternity payment contributions.