Constantly trading sleep for spreadsheets and sacrificing downtime for deadlines? Or are you one of the lucky ones who has mastered the art of juggling the professional and the personal? The truth is, where you live can make a big difference. While some countries are notorious for their gruelling work cultures, others take a more relaxed approach and prioritise wellbeing, with flexible arrangements, generous leave and other employee-friendly policies the norm.

Read on to find out how 30 selected nations fare, based on the OECD Better Life Index, which gives each OECD country a score of between zero and 10 for work-life balance.

All dollar amounts in US dollars

According to official statistics, 27% of employees in Mexico work more than 50 hours per week, the highest level in the OECD, while 40% put in a six-day week. Plus, the average time devoted to leisure and personal care is the joint second lowest among OECD nations at just 13.5 hours a day, including eating and sleeping. (The OECD average is 15 hours).

The World Economic Forum has reported that the country's 48-hour maximum working week is rarely enforced due to long-standing fears about unemployment coupled with weak labour laws. Adding to the strain, Mexican workers take the lowest number of vacation days in Latin America and get to enjoy just eight public holidays a year, the joint fewest globally.

Colombia's work-life balance score isn't much better at only 0.6. The country is the third worst performer in the OECD in terms of the proportion of the workforce working very long hours. And Colombians have the least free time, with just 13.3 hours of the day given over to leisure and personal care.

On the bright side, Colombia has 10 more paid public holidays than Mexico – the most in this round-up. (Incidentally, Nepal has the most in the world at 39). What's more, the country is moving from its traditional 48-hour working week over five or six days to a legal maximum of 42 hours, which is scheduled to come into effect by 2026.

Though Türkiye's official working week is set at a maximum of 45 hours for most, a quarter of employees work more than 50 hours per week, the second highest proportion in the OECD after Mexico. The OECD average is just 10%.

Turkish workers are treated to 14 public holidays annually, and plans are reportedly afoot to reduce the working week for all employees to between 35 and 40 hours. Still, Türkiye is the least contented of all the countries in our round-up as per the latest World Happiness Report, and its tough work culture no doubt contributes to the gloom.

Long days and little time off are par for the course in the Japanese workplace, which typically prizes presenteeism and unfailing devotion to the organisation. Putting in unpaid overtime is usually a must, and according to a study by Tokyo-based HR company Staff Service, only two in 10 employees take paid annual leave.

The extra-high expectations can lead to severe health consequences, with karoshi, literally “death by overwork”, a recognised problem in Japan. Efforts to curb the country's addiction to work are under way, with a four-day week among the proposals. However, as CNBC has noted, changing Japan's deeply ingrained work culture won't be easy.

Compared to the OECD average of 10%, South Africa has a much larger proportion of the population working more than 50 hours per week and the country's workforce has less free time.

South Africa, which has an hourly minimum wage of just $1.50 (£1.20) per hour, is the second unhappiest nation in our round-up, according to the World Happiness Report. But a move towards a shorter working week – a major trial of a four-day week has already been carried out – is likely to cut hours on the job and promote wellbeing in the Rainbow Nation in the future.

Achieving a decent work-life balance is a challenge in South Korea, where overtime is commonplace, staff are expected to attend after-work dinners and drinks and employees feel they have to stay in the office until the boss leaves, according to NBC News.

Opposition to this unforgiving work culture is growing, particularly among the younger generations, but the government seems to be doubling down. In 2023, it tried to raise the working week from 52 hours to 69 hours. According to UK newspaper The Guardian, it only backed down following an outcry from Gen Zs, Millennials and labour unions.

Australians do pretty well when it comes to paid annual leave, with 20 days the minimum entitlement mandated by law. But 13% of Australian employees work very long hours, above the OECD average of 10%, and the amount of free time in an Aussie day is less than the OECD average.

Speaking to ABC News, Eliza Littleton, a senior economist at the Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work, said Australians work more paid overtime than their counterparts in the US, UK and Canada, and also put in more hours of unpaid overtime a week too.

Exhausting long hours are less of a problem in Chile. According to the OECD, 8% of employees work more than 50 hours a week, which is better than the OECD average. On the other hand, working days are by no means short, and the typical time spent on leisure and personal care is below the OECD average.

The minimum vacation entitlement could be better too. Following a year in employment, staff are entitled to 15 days annual leave, though additional days are added in subsequent years.

Like its neighbour Australia, New Zealand requires employers to offer staff 20 paid vacation days a year. In a general sense, work-life balance in New Zealand is better, but a slightly larger chunk of the workforce put in very long hours: 14% compared to Australia's 13%.

However, New Zealand is actually ranked number one in the world for work-life balance by global employment firm Remote, which has analysed the world's top 60 countries by GDP and awarded New Zealand a score of 80.76 out of 100, partly thanks to its generous annual leave entitlement of 32 days.

America's workers have to contend with fewer rights than their counterparts in Europe and advanced economies elsewhere, with no paid sick leave, maternity or paternity leave, or paid vacation mandated by federal law. And though most companies do offer paid annual leave, it averages just 10 days.

Factor in the country's workaholic culture and it's astonishing its OECD work-life balance score isn't much lower.

The poorest scorer among the European countries in this round-up, the UK is the continent's overworked hotspot. The nation scores below the OECD average for both the proportion of employees who work very long hours and the amount of free time the typical worker has in a day.

While the paid annual leave entitlement of 20 days and benefits such as maternity leave are generous by global standards, the English and Welsh get just eight paid public holidays a year, the joint lowest number in the world.

Austria has relatively few people who work extremely long hours with only 5% of the workforce putting in 50-hour-plus weeks.

However, the typical time spent on leisure and personal activities in the country is just short of the OECD average, and several companies in the country now offer staff the option of working a four-day week.

The standard working week in Brazil stands at 44 hours comprising eight hours a day, Monday to Friday, and four hours on Saturday. That's excessive by global standards, though according to the OECD, only 6% of employees work extremely long hours.

In any case, workers get an impressive 30 days of annual leave once they've been with a company for a year. Brazil is also among the countries to trial a four-day week, meaning working hours could decrease in the future.

Only 5% of Irish workers toil away for 50 hours a week or more, but working long days is relatively common in Ireland and the typical time spent in a day on leisure and personal care is less than the OECD average.

The minimum paid annual leave entitlement of 20 days is good by international standards, but the nation only offers 10 public holidays a year, which is on the low side.

Canada has a healthier work-life balance than its neighbour to the south; just 3% of Canadians work incredibly long hours compared to 10% of Americans. Government regulation is clearly to thank for this, at least in part. Canadian employees have more protections than their peers in the US and enjoy legally mandated access to sick pay, maternity pay and other benefits that foster a better work-life balance.

Employees are also entitled to a minimum of 15 vacation days annually which, while on the mean side compared to many developed countries, massively outshines the US legal minimum of zero.

Poland outclasses Canada in areas like vacation entitlement – its workers get a minimum of 20 days paid annual leave, five more than their Canadian counterparts. Poland also has 13 public holidays, while some Canadian provinces offer only 10. But the country does have a marginally larger proportion of workers who toil for more than 50 hours a week.

As it turns out, Poland has the same work-life balance score as Canada at 6.5.

Portugal's work-life balance score comes in at 6.7. Only 6% of the labour force works more than 50-hour weeks and the time devoted to leisure and personal care is equal to the OECD average of 15 hours.

Annual leave is one of the factors that pushes up Portugal's score. The maximum entitlement is 20 days during the first year of employment, but this changes to a minimum of 22 days once the year is out.

Greece has some of the longest lunch breaks in the world at an average of three hours and strong benefits such as its legally mandated maternity leave. The proportion of employees who work excessively long days is only 5% and the typical free-time figure is on a par with the OECD average.

However, in a bid to boost productivity, the Greek government adopted a six-day working week in 2024 for some industries, going against the global trend towards fewer working hours.

The typical working week in Luxembourg is 40 hours, rising to a maximum of 48 with overtime. There's little scope to go over these hours, but according to the OECD, 3% of the workforce puts in 50 hours a week.

Typical free time is around the OECD average, and annual leave amounts to 26 days. Best of all, Luxembourg has the highest minimum wage in the world at $2,549 (£2.1k) per month, according to payroll platform Payroll. However, this is massively offset by the Grand Duchy's infamously expensive living costs.

Swiss law sets the absolute maximum working week at 50 hours, and according to the OECD, only 0.4% of employees in the affluent country work beyond this limit.

Annual vacation entitlement is 20 days for workers aged between 20 and 50, and 25 days for those under 20 and over 50. The biggest drawback is the low number of public holidays, with just nine in total.

The proportion of employees in Belgium working more than 50 hours a week is higher than in Switzerland, but at just 4% they're a small part of the total workforce. Typical free time in Switzerland equates to the OECD average of 15 hours, while Belgian workers enjoy an additional 30 minutes.

The minimum vacation entitlement in the country is 20 days a year, and public holidays amount to 10 days.

Russia's work-life balance score of 7.8 is reflected in the exceedingly low number of people in the country working extra-long hours – only 0.1% of employees do more than 50 hours a week – as well as the amount of free time workers enjoy, which just surpasses the OECD average.

Public holidays number 11, which is so-so by global standards, but the minimum annual vacation leave entitlement is among the highest in the world at 28 days.

Germany's maximum working week is 48 hours, though periods of 60-hour weeks are allowed. However, only 4% of employees work more than 50 hours weekly.

The country has up to 13 public holidays, depending on the state, and annual leave is legally mandated at a minimum of 20 days, but according to payroll platform Deel most employers give their workers up to six weeks off a year. Among Germany's work-life balance bonuses is its openness to working from home, with the country ranked third best in the latest Global Remote Worker Index.

Work-life balance in Sweden is very good. Only 1% of employees work long hours, and the time the typical person spends on leisure and personal care surpasses the OECD average.

Maternity leave is among the most generous globally and the minimum annual vacation entitlement is a plentiful 25 days. What's more, the number of annual public holidays isn't all that bad for Europe, with a total of 12 on offer.

Downtime is highly valued in France, and while 8% of employees endure working weeks of more than 50 hours, many stick to the legal working week of just 35 hours. In terms of free time, French workers have 16.2 hours a day to play with – only one other country has more.

Employee benefits are comprehensive and the minimum annual leave entitlement is identical to Sweden's at 25 days, boosted by 11 public holidays.

The Netherlands has many of the ingredients required for a stellar work-life balance. The country is the second best for remote work, offers the second highest minimum wage on the planet and also boasts some of the most generous paternity leave.

Only 0.3% of employees work more than 50 hours a week, and the typical free time a worker enjoys is better than the OECD average. Vacation entitlement isn't the most bountiful in the world, but at 20 days a year, it's not bad either.

In Spain, the focus for many people tends to be on enjoying life outside of work. A mere 3% of workers in the country put in extra-long hours and the amount of time spent on leisure and personal care comfortably exceeds the OCED average at 15.7 hours a day.

The country is excellent for remote workers and ranks as one of the best places in the world for benefits such as paid paternity leave. Public holidays number up to 13 depending on the autonomous community and annual leave is legally mandated at a minimum of 23 days.

Mirroring other Nordic countries, Norway prioritises quality over quantity when it comes to work, and a healthy balance between the professional and the personal is positively encouraged.

Just 1% of employees work more than 50 hours a week, and the typical level of free time tops the OECD average at 15.7 hours, as in Spain. Minimum annual leave is set at 20 days a year, which isn't exceptional, but maternity leave entitlement is 334 days at 100% of salary – no other country offers longer and more comprehensive paid leave for mothers. Other plus points include the nation's 14 public holidays, more than most European countries offer.

Denmark has nailed work-life balance. Like Norway, only 1% of workers in the country work 50-hour weeks or more and time away from the job surpasses the OECD average; as in Spain and Norway, most workers in Denmark devote 15.7 hours to personal care and leisure.

Denmark is the world's second happiest country, the best for remote working and – tellingly – the least sleep-deprived, according to a 2024 survey by research firm YouGov. Public holidays number 14 a year, and the minimum annual vacation entitlement is 25 days.

Dreaming of enjoying la dolce vita in a country where people work to live and not the other way around? Look no further than Italy. The best nation in the world for work-life balance, a tiny 3% of the country's employees toil away for more than 50 hours a week. Free time is more plentiful than in any other nation and workers spend almost 70% of their day away from work.

Workplace benefits are mostly great, with 20 days annual leave along with four Ex Festivitá hours days as the minimum. The number of paid public holidays per year amounts to 12.

Now discover what the average person earns in different countries around the world