Work-Life Balance

Background

Finding a suitable balance between work and daily living is a challenge that all workers face. Families are particularly affected. The ability to successfully combine work, family commitments and personal life is important for the well-being of all members in a household. Governments can help to address the issue by encouraging supportive and flexible working practices, making it easier for parents to strike a better balance between work and home life.

Employees working long hours

An important aspect of work-life balance is the amount of time a person spends at work. Evidence suggests that long work hours may impair personal health, jeopardise safety and increase stress. 10% of employees in the OECD work 50 hours or more per week in paid work. Mexico is the country with the highest proportion of people working very long hours in paid work, with 27%, followed by Turkey with nearly 25% and Colombia with almost 24% of employees; all of these countries saw a drop in the proportion of people working very long hours in paid work compared to 10 years ago. Overall, more men work very long hours in paid work; the percentage of male employees working very long hours in paid work across OECD countries is almost 14%, compared with about 6% for women.

Time devoted to leisure and personal care

Furthermore, the more people work, the less time they have to spend on other activities, such as personal care or leisure. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people's overall well-being, and can bring additional physical and mental health benefits. A full-time worker in the OECD devotes 63% of the day on average, or 15 hours, to personal care (eating, sleeping, etc.) and leisure (socialising with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.). Fewer hours in paid work for women do not necessarily result in greater leisure time, as time devoted to leisure is roughly the same for men and women across the 22 OECD countries studied.

Work-Life Balance in Detail by Country