Maintaining a healthy work life balance is an important goal. Stress is one of the most common health problems in the modern workplace. The European Union has a strict set of minimum requirements for the health and safety of the workers. Staff cannot work over 48 hours per week on average. There must also be 11 consecutive hours of rest between shifts. Having a healthy work life balance is not just beneficial for the employer but also the employee. It can increase productivity, lower absenteeism and raise employee retention.
“You don’t have to make yourself miserable to be successful. It’s natural to look back and mythologize the long nights and manic moments of genius, but success isn’t about working hard, it’s about working smart.” ―Andrew Wilkinson, founder of MetaLab
Hours worked per week can vary across Europe. According to an OCED study in 2016 working hours across Europe could have a difference of up to ten hours per week. The Netherlands had an overall average of 29.3 hours, Poland had 39, France had an average of 36 and Germany had 34.3. While the study did contain the part-time hours, it shows the difference in the amount of hours worked from one European country to the next. The overall average working time for Europe was 36.2 hours.
According to Internations, the top seven European countries for work life balance are, Denmark, Norway, the Czech Republic, Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland and Germany. Scandinavian countries seem to have an edge when it comes to work life balance. TotallyMoney has conducted a study into European work-life balance and found that Denmark and Sweden have fewer overall working hours in comparison to some of the other countries. Public holidays and holiday allowance are plentiful. This allows people from Denmark and Sweden to enjoy their free time with family and friends.
Lower working hours and a higher number of holidays are not the only way to measure work life balance. The UN World Happiness report measured several difference indicators including, personal relationships, occupation, achievements, health, neighborhood and leisure time among others. The important thing to remember is to make the most of the time that we have.
Whether in work, at home or out with family or friends, our time is precious. 1Time Tracking understands the importance of time. Some say that time is money. We at 1Time prefer to say, time is your health and wealth. With the 1Time Tracking’s easy to use platform, time can be managed wisely and productively. Try our free trial to maximize your time and the time of your employees.
