How do you create a perfect work-life balance in your life? Do you think that relocating to another country might help you achieve that goal? Some of us are so buried in our work, doing the work of several people at once. Maybe a change of scenery is all that is needed to help balance work and life.

In the past we have written about online tools to compare different countries, about the happiest places to relocate, about how to have a good work-life balance while on international assignment, about how to have a good life while on assignment and even a two-part series on why you need to accept that international assignment (part 1 and part 2.) So I guess you could say we’re passionate about the relocation of people overseas. We want people to have the best possible experience while there – we want the experience to be good for them, their family and their corporation.

Recently OCED published their work-life balance index of countries around the world based on a number of factors including housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance. This last criteria work-life balance is determined by “the number of employees working long hours; the percentage of working mothers; and the time people devote to leisure and personal activities” in each country. Overall Australia was ranked with the best work-life balance according to the criteria above. Below you will find how each member country ranked according to their different factors. To read more about the report please click here.

What countries have the best work-life balance?

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Sweden
4. New Zealand
5. Norway
6. Denmark
7. United States
8. Switzerland
9. Finland
10. Netherlands
11. Luxembourg
12. Iceland
13. United Kingdom
14. Austria
15. Ireland
16. Germany
17. Belgium
18. France
19. Japan
20. Israel
21. Slovenia
22. Spain
23. Czech Republic
24. Italy
25. Poland
26. Korea
27. Greece
28. Slovak Republic
29. Hungary
30. Portugal
31. Estonia
32. Chile
33. Mexico
34. Turkey

The truth is that no matter what country you live in you can have a good or bad work-life balance. Therefore it is up to you to develop good patterns from the start. For some it might mean turning the email off between certain hours or scheduling down time. For others it might mean finding a hobby which allows you to get some mental distance away from the issues at work. While for others signing up for an international assignment will provide the perfect opportunity to hit the “refresh” button on their own work-life balance. Do you think that a relocation might be your next step to finding a good work-life balance? Finding a way to balance your life is in your hands. Choosing a work-life pattern that works for you will yield results in both your professional and personal life.

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