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Australia drops as best and worst nations for work-life balance revealed

Aussie workers have reported a lower overall happiness score in 2024, slipping four places in a ranking for work-life balance.

Belinda Grant-Geary
·Head of Yahoo Finance Australia
·2-min read
New Zealand and Ireland have beaten Australia in a ranking for best work-life balance.
New Zealand and Ireland have beaten Australia in a ranking for best work-life balance. (Getty)

Australia has been beaten by New Zealand in a new ranking of nations with the best work-life balance. Workers Down Under reported a lower overall happiness score, dropping from fourth to eighth place in a new global survey by employment experts Remote.

New Zealand was named the best country for work-life balance, with 32 days of annual leave. That's despite having a lower minimum wage than Aussies.

Remote assessed a range of factors including how much time off employers got to recharge, parental leave benefits, healthcare systems, hours worked, and employee safety.

Aussie workers get two days fewer annual leave a year than those across the ditch, with 30 paid work-free days on offer.

Aussie workers had a happiness index of 7.05 and, on average, clocked 32.9 hours of work a week, which was found to be "one of the shortest working weeks".

The average across the 60 developed nations assessed was 39.19.

"It’s hard not to value time spent outside work when you’re blessed with almost year-round sunshine, so it’s not surprising to see Australia in our top 10 for a second year running," the report said.

"But it isn’t all about the country’s favourable climate, laid-back culture, and stunning scenery.

"For one thing, the country comfortably offers the highest minimum wage ($17.47 USD equivalent) of any nation in our list, with Australians among the highest-paid employees in the world.

  1. New Zealand

  2. Ireland

  3. Belgium

  4. Denmark

  5. Canada

  6. Germany

  7. Finland

  8. Australia

  9. Norway

  10. Spain

Nigeria was ranked the lowest, but America was not far behind. The USA placed 55 on the list, down two places from last year.

The United Kingdom dropped out of the top 10, coming in at 15.

  1. Nigeria

  2. Philippines

  3. Ethiopia

  4. Iraq

  5. Turkey

  6. United States

  7. Bangladesh

  8. Egypt

  9. Qatar

  10. United Arab Emirates