Remote evaluated 60 of the world's largest economies on paid leave, sick pay, maternity policies, minimum wage, healthcare, happiness, working hours, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and safety to produce a life-work balance score out of 100. New Zealand leads with an 86.87 score, providing 32 days of paid leave, six months of fully paid maternity leave, and a $16.42 hourly minimum wage. Ireland (81.17) and Belgium (75.91) follow, supported by strong minimum wages, maternity benefits, sick pay, high happiness rates, and shorter work weeks. The United States ranks near the bottom of 60, hindered by limited paid parental leave.
If you're tired of refreshing Outlook before your daughter's first dance recital or your boss denying PTO, moving to New Zealand may be the new answer to combating your 9-to-5 burnout. A new measure of the Global Life-Work Balance Index found New Zealand was crowned the best country for life-work balance for the third year in a row, improving from its score in 2024, thanks in part to a slight jump in minimum wage.
Global HR platform Remote studied the 60 countries with the largest economies in the world to measure which ones allowed workers to "live and work well." The index measured factors ranging from paid leave, sick pay, maternity policies, minimum wage, healthcare, happiness, working hours, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and overall safety. Each country was ranked out of 100. New Zealand is performing well across each category, with a score of 86.87.
Collection
[
|
...
]