The 23 Best Countries for Work-Life Balance (We Are Number 23) By Derek Thompson

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/the-23-best-countries-for-work-life-balance-we-are-number-23/250830/

With the lowest child-poverty rate among developed nations, Denmark was named the best country for work-life balance in a 2011 report from the OECD.

All three Scandinavian countries -- Denmark, Sweden, and Norway -- finished in the top seven in the ranking. So famous for their generous social safety net, which sharply divides liberals and conservatives between envy and consternation, northern Europe dominated the list, taking almost all the top ten spots.

What constitutes a balance between work and life? The OECD settled on three chief variables: (1) The share of the labor force that works extreme hours; (2) leisure time; and (3) employment rates for women who have children. The United States, which leads most of the world in share of mothers who are working, lagged in leisure time and share of overworked employees. Onto the list, with some analysis below:

23 :: The U.S.
Key stat: "The US, for example, is the only OECD country without a national paid parental leave policy, although some states do provide leave payments."

Employees working very long hours: 0.11%

Employment rate of women with children: 73%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.13 hours

22 :: Spain
Key stat: "Female employment in Spain is still below the OECD average (59.6%); 75% of mothers go back to work only 8 years after childbirth."

Employees working very long hours: 0.07%

Employment rate of women with children: 57%

Time devoted to leisure and personal care: 15.7 hours


*** more at link

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Once again, Scandinavian countries top the list.

Way to go, Denmark, Norway, Sweden.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. I was very surprised by this, and wonder if it's correct...

U.S.:

Employees working very long hours: 0.11%


I don't believe it.

[MountainLaurel]

3. I don't either

Maybe it's because so many Americans aren't working.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. I think you might be right, because those that are, are working like horses! One doing the job of

many, and working long hours, not necessarily for extra pay.

[MountainLaurel]

5. Or working multiple part-time jobs

Which is the way of it these days for everyone from retail clerks to college professors.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. That is true as well - it's a shock to me how bad the lifestyle in the U.S. has become. nt

[Catherina]

9. Or they're working them but not getting paid

It happens all the time in corporations.

At the last one I worked out, which was a respectable, well-know corporation swimming in money, we weren't allowed to report overtime because then the CFO would breath down our boss's neck, which reflected on his performance and made his multi-million dollar bonus smaller. So the entire bottom carried the downsized numbers for them.

I can't count how many nights I worked 2-5 hours overtime with no pay as an hourly employee.

The salaried employees fared worse because they were expected to work overtime. When these companies give you a cell phone and a lap top it's so you can be at the department's beck and call.

Great stock options but you worked like a mule. And none of it reported so they could get their numbers right.

[maggiesfarmer]

7. what kind of criteria are these?

(1) The share of the labor force that works extreme hours;
(2) leisure time; and
(3) employment rates for women who have children

those criteria came verbatim from the cited story report. I went to the source webpage for more info, but the format makes it difficult to find information:

- 'extreme hours' are defined as >50/week
- 'leisure time' is described to include time spent 'eating, sleeping "socializing with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television"

I have no issues with the definition of extreme hours.
I'm highly suspicious of the study's abilty to accuractely measure leisure time (unless they are simply taking 24 hours/day and subtracting work hours, but if they're doing that, then they're essentially giving double weight to the first criteria).

What really strikes me is the very sexist criteria of examining employment rates for women with children under the guise of rating work/life balance for the whole nation (not just the ~50% female population). The survey seems to give bonus points where women with children are unemployed. Is this really a good thing? This shows up all over the place:
Spain: "Key stat: Female employment in Spain is still below the OECD average (59.6%); 75% of mothers go back to work only 8 years after childbirth"
Hungary: "Key stat: At 1.33 children per woman, the total fertility rate in Hungary is the ..."
Austria: "Key stat: In Austria, 71% of mothers are employed after their children begin school"
Iceland: "Key stat: In Iceland, 87% of mothers are employed after their children begin school"
Germany: "Key stat: In 2009, only three countries in the OECD had fewer babies per woman than Germany"

I'm very interested in hearing from the women's rights activists on this -- is it reasonable to assess a 'work/life balance' of a country while giving such bias to the female population? Should women with children not be expected to work? not be expected to work as much as those without kids? (follow up question: should men with children not be expected to work? as much as those w/out kids?)

Lastly, this is titled a study in work-life balance but seems to put disproportiante weight when considering statistics that impact working families with young children. for example, the 'key stat' for the US is ".. the only OECD country without a national paid parental leave policy, although some states do provide leave payments." why such weight being placed on worker's with young children? my kids are grown -- is my work/life balance less important today than it was 10 years ago? is my work/life balance less important than those who breed regularly througout their fertile years?

[dentynepure]

8. 10% of us have nothing to do...

We have so many unemployed in this country, you'd think our leisure time would be sky-high!