The World's Best Places To Live And Work

Image Via images.businessweek

One of your New Year's resolutions is probably to better balance your professional life with your personal life. If not, it should be.

So how do you accomplish this?

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is move to a country where the locals are already very happy with their work-life balance.

In October, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published the results of a survey of Work-Life Balance in its member countries. It based its ratings primarily on these factors:

1. The average length of the workday.
2. The employment rate of women with children.
3. The time responders devoted to leisure and personal care, which includes sleep.

The rationale behind these factors: Children with one working parent are three times more likely to grow up in poverty than children with two working parents. Studies suggest that spending more time at work can increase stress, impair personal health and fitness, and jeopardize safety. The OECD believes that more time spent on work and leisure can improve both mental and physical health.

#12 Estonia

Flickr

Employees working very long hours: 0.03%

Employment rate of women with children: 74%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 14.94 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#11 Slovenia

Employees working very long hours: 0.07%

Employment rate of women with children: 74%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.29 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#10 France

Wikimedia Commons

Employees working very long hours: 0.09%

Employment rate of women with children: 66%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.06 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#9 Portugal

Stock Free Images

Employees working very long hours: 0.05%

Employment rate of women with children: 67%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.80 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#8 Germany

Employees working very long hours: 0.05%

Employment rate of women with children: 66%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.14 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#7 Sweden

Urban Combing (Ultrastar175g) [flickr]

Employees working very long hours: 0.01%

Employment rate of women with children: 76%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.48 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

 

 

 

 

#6 Switzerland

AP Images

Employees working very long hours: 0.06%

Employment rate of women with children: 79%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.74 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#5 Belgium

Wikimedia Commons

Employees working very long hours: 0.04%

Employment rate of women with children: 63%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.61 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#4 Finland

Nadia Virronen / Shutterstock.com

Employees working very long hours: 0.04%

Employment rate of women with children: 76%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.95 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#3 Netherlands

Jos van Zetten via Flickr

Employees working very long hours: 0.01%

Employment rate of women with children: 75%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.06 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#2 Norway

Flickr

Employees working very long hours: 0.03%

Employment rate of women with children: 79%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.05 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

#1 Denmark

Photo via jimg944 on Flikr / www.flickr.com

Employees working very long hours: 0.02%

Employment rate of women with children: 78%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 16.31 hours

Source: OECD Better Life Index

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