Working full time and being a parent is a challenge.
But how much of a challenge that is, now depends on the country in which you live.
An Expert Market report has revealed the list of 37 countries in order of how easy it is to be a working parent and the results make for very interesting reading.
The study examined four areas when it came to work-life balance; The average number of annual hours worked, the number of paid annual leave allowed by law in that specific country, total leave available to mums and total paid leave for dads.
Finland and Estonia are the top two countries respectively for parents’ work-life balance. Finland got first place, scoring excellently on paid annual leave allowances and Estonia came in second with the best result for paid leave available to mothers - an impressive 85 weeks at full-rate pay.
Despite being one of the world’s most developed nations, the United States scored the worst of all the OECD countries. This was because it failed to provide any statutory paid leave to mums or dads.
Austria, France, and Germany came runners up but Ireland was in the bottom bunch for having a good work-life balance, along with Mexico, Turkey, and New Zealand.
Adelle Kehoe, of Expert Market, said times are changing:
“The way we work has completely transformed in recent years and work-life balance has become increasingly important. Our research clearly shows which countries are future-proofing their infrastructures and those that risk being left behind. Raising the next generation to be happy and successful is arguably the most important job of all and parents need time to do that!”
