It’s no surprise to anyone that workers in the US have been trailing other high-income countries in work-life balance for years. Greater numbers of US workers put in more than 40 hours per week compared to workers in countries like Switzerland, Canada, the UK, and Germany. The American response is that Americans are more productive. Still, productivity metrics related to output per hour are often comparable to high-GDP European nations like Germany and Norway, so where is this extra productivity coming from?
Simply put, Americans work more throughout the year compared to their counterparts in other high-GDP nations. They work more days out of the year and longer hours each day. The problem with this, though, is that they do this at the expense of their overall well-being. This overworking often leads to increased stress, burnout, and a lack of time for personal and family activities, which are crucial for a balanced and healthy life.
How much more the average American works is best viewed through vacation days. On average, an American worker only gets 11 vacation days a year compared to the average European, getting 33 days. Paid holidays are not mandated by law in the US but instead built into employment contracts, leaving even less incentive for a worker to take time away from work.
In the summer, North American workers at a multinational company witness a stark contrast in work cultures when interacting with their European counterparts. These Europeans often take two to three weeks off in the summer months, switching off and relaxing. In contrast, their North American counterparts keep working with few opportunities to disconnect from their work completely. This difference leaves many workers unsatisfied, as reflected in Pew’s report, which states that only 49% of Americans are happy with their benefits and paid time off.
If you flatten the number of hours worked – let’s say 35 hours a week at 48 weeks of work a year (1680 hours annually) – most European workers would be just as productive annually as the US. However, when you factor in the extra 22 days (4.3 more work weeks) Americans work per year, you begin to understand how overall annual productivity numbers are skewed. And as noted above, within each of these weeks, this same American worker is also more likely to work more than 40 hours leading to even more time at work than the “standard” 40-hour work week.
After decades of data collection, it’s clear that although Americans may rank number 1 in disposable income and be more productive annually, they have all of this at the expense of an individual worker’s ability to escape from work. The US consistently fails to rank in the top 10 for ‘happiness’ despite being the wealthiest nation on the planet, and America’s work-life culture is a notable roadblock to changing that. The average European gets as much work done per hour while receiving better benefits, more vacation, and a more livable wage relative to their local economy. For employers, studies have shown that a better work-life balance can lead to higher employee retention, increased productivity, and reduced healthcare costs for businesses.
As the summer days roll on and temperatures rise, very few Americans would claim they’d rather spend those summer days working than at the beach, on vacation, or spending time with their friends and family. But in 2024, we may be seeing a shift. More on this next time as we dive deeper into this subject.