Keeping the right work-life balance

Denmark has the best work-life balance among the OECD countries

A study from OECD shows that Denmark is the county among the 20 OECD countries with the best work-life balance in 2011.

The result is based on three indicators:

• Employees working very long hours
  1.92 % of the Danes work more than 50 hours a week. This gives a ranking on 4 out of 36. The OECD average is 9 %.
   
• Gender Inequality
  Denmark has a place as number 28 out of 32 countries, when it comes to gender equality. It is worth mentioning that number 32 is the country with the most equal genders. This country is the Netherlands.
   
• Time devoted to leisure and personal care
  Denmark is ranked as number one, when the matter is devoting time to leisure and personal care (including sleeping, eating, etc.). 16.06 hours a day (or 69 %), the Danes spend on not working. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people’s overall well-being, and can bring additional physical and mental health benefits. The average for the OECD countries is 14.8 hours.

In the other end of the scale, we find Mexico. In Mexico, nearly 29 % of employees work very long hours, one of the highest levels in the OECD.

Not only a picture perfect

The three indicators together give Denmark a rank as the OECD country with the best work-life balance. And the Danes are in a better position than many other countries, when it comes to jobs and educational possibilities. However, many Danes still find it very difficult to manage career, private life, family and hobbies in an active and stressful everyday life.

Especially the highly educated people of Denmark find it hard to cope with daily challenges. They face high demands from their work place and they also have to be successful spouses and engage in exiting leisure activity. This can be too much for many people who want to satisfy everyone in their surroundings and therefore end up being worn out.

One of the reasons that Denmark is still the country with the best work-life balance, though – according to Signe Tønnesen Bergmann, chief consultant in the professional organization Lederne (The Leaders) – could be that the Danish work life is based on both a working man and a working woman. Therefore, couples can share the work load as in contrast to some other countries, where the man has to work for them both.

Perhaps the study from the OECD can inspire the countries to learn from each other and at the same time be aware of some of their own pros and cons in the structure of their work life and social life.

OECD’s study: http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/work-life-balance/

Article in Børsen (in Danish): http://borsen.dk/nyheder/avisen/artikel/11/25629/artikel.html