Global Life-Work Balance Index 2025

Overall index score: 86.87

If you’re thinking of relocating to a new country for work in 2025, there aren’t many better destinations than New Zealand. In fact, “The Land of the Long White Cloud” (the English translation of the country’s Māori name Aotearoa) holds its place at the top of our index for the third year in a row, even improving on its score from 2024 thanks in part to a slight jump in minimum wage.

Why is New Zealand so life-work-balance-friendly? Well, it helps to be surrounded by such diverse, breathtaking scenery, but while the country doesn’t rank at #1 for every factor we assessed, it scores consistently well across the study — particularly in areas like statutory annual leave, public happiness, safety, and minimum wage (where it is ranked the second-highest of all countries assessed).

Hard work is seen as important in Kiwi culture, but 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 retains its #2 ranking in 2025. With the locals having a global reputation for being warm and welcoming, the country synonymous with St. Paddy’s Day is (along with Austria) considered the safest country to live and work in of all those we analyzed.

The Emerald Isle scores well across the board, with a relatively high minimum wage and a generous maternity leave policy compared to many other countries (with 26 weeks off at 70% of income payment rate). The work culture in Ireland tends to favor a balance between hard work and a real sense of community and camaraderie.

Overall index score: 75.91

Cementing its place in the top three after sharing the spot last year with Denmark, life-work balance is becoming just as much a hallmark of Belgian culture as chocolate, waffles and beer — and not just because it has one of the highest minimum wages in Europe (topped only by the United Kingdom and Germany).

Belgium scores well across several other metrics too, including statutory sick pay and maternity payment rate, while the country’s happiness rating is among the highest in Europe at 6.91/10. Belgians also work relatively short working weeks (34.1 hours) on average compared to many of their overseas counterparts.

Overall index score: 74.65

Rising two places from the 2024 ranking, Germany climbs to position four in our 2025 life-work balance index. Punctuality and professionalism are traditionally seen as “German values,” but there’s also a strong emphasis on working smarter, not harder, which is perhaps one of the reasons Germany is considered to have one of the best life-work balances in Europe.

Several factors have contributed to Germany’s improved score in 2025, but a key change is an increase in statutory sick pay, especially for parents. We’ve also seen a slight increase in overall happiness and a decrease in the average hours worked per week, while the country’s LGBTQ+ inclusivity has improved since 2024, too.

Overall index score: 74.20

Making the biggest jump of any of our top ten countries, Norway moves from ninth in the 2024 study to fifth this year. This improvement is mainly due to an extension of parental leave options (Norway has the most generous parental leave policy of all countries studied), but we’ve also seen a slight drop in working hours. At 32.6 hours, Norway has one of the shortest work weeks in Europe on average.

The work culture in Norway tends to steer towards equality and cooperation, which is emphasized by the fact that it’s considered the most LGBTQ+-inclusive country in our list. Like many of its Nordic counterparts, Norway is also seen as one of Europe’s happiest nations. 

Overall index score: 73.76

The Danes have long been associated with a harmonious personal-professional divide. Indeed, many point to Denmark’s strong emphasis on balancing work and life as a key reason it consistently ranks among the world’s happiest nations — although the Danes’ fondness for the hygge lifestyle may also be a factor.

Despite dropping out of the top three this year (Denmark shared third place with Belgium in 2024), the country is synonymous with a high quality of life, second only to Finland for public happiness levels. It also has one of the shortest average working weeks (32.5 hours) and is considered one of the safest and most LGBTQ+-friendly countries.

Overall index score: 73.46

Canada may have fallen two places this year, but it remains the only country in the Americas to feature in the top ten for life-work balance. In stark contrast to its neighbour to the south (the United States ranked 59th out of the 60 countries reviewed), “The Great White North” scores solidly across many of the metrics we analyzed for our 2025 life-work balance study.

For example, Canada ranks among the world’s top countries for statutory sick pay, while it also performs well when it comes to public safety and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Plus, one thing it has that the U.S. doesn’t is a universal government-funded healthcare system. 

Canadian workplaces tend to value punctuality and dependability, but employees typically maintain a healthy separation between work and family life.

Overall index score: 72.10

The global perception of Australian culture is that it tends to be very laid back, with Aussies generally adopting a “no-worries” attitude to life. Their workplaces broadly reflect this, prioritizing openness and egalitarianism. The country maintains a strong focus on employee wellbeing, holding its position at number eight for life-work balance for the second year running.

While Australia trails behind its Antipodean neighbor New Zealand in most categories, it boasts the highest minimum wage of any country we studied — the equivalent of $18.12 in U.S. dollars. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a country with such a relaxed outlook (and year-round sunshine, too), Australians tend to work short hours (32.29 per week) compared to most other countries.

Overall index score: 71.94

Has the idea of the traditional Spanish “siesta” become a dated, inaccurate national stereotype? Possibly (it’s believed that most Spaniards never take a midday nap), but the country still has a generally healthy attitude towards work and life, rising one place in our 2025 study to cement its place in the top ten.

While Spain’s public happiness rating is perhaps surprisingly low compared to other European nations, it largely performs well across the factors measured. Spain is considered the second-most LGBTQ+-friendly country of the 60 we analyzed. Spanish workers also enjoy a generous annual leave entitlement and maternity payment contribution.

Overall index score: 70.86

Rounding out the top ten is Finland, “officially” the happiest country in the world in 2025, according to a recent study. In fact, the Finns have ranked as the world’s most upbeat nation for the past eight years. Why? It’s often attributed to factors such as a high level of societal trust and freedom, as well as a closeness to nature and the outdoors.

Finland has actually dropped three places in our global life-work balance this year (with one factor being a slight drop in LGBTQ+ inclusivity) but clings on to its top ten standing thanks to the aforementioned happiness score, alongside a generous statutory annual leave policy, a high rate of sick pay, and a relatively short average working week.