Top Cities for Work-Life Balance

As many adjust to working remotely and navigate the impacts of Covid-19, a new index ranks the cities which offer the best work-life balance to their citizens.

Comparing data on work intensity, legislation and liveability, the index, released by cloud-based security developer Kisi, ranks cities around the globe.

The result is an index of 19 factors determining the work-life balance of 50 cities.

Despite its Covid-related restrictions, Melbourne ranked 24th on the list. While Sydney took the top spot for Australia, at 21.

Taking factors into consideration such as work-intensity, cities that made the shortlist were those with sufficient data-sets.

It assessed each city’s overall work-life score based on measures such as the amount of time a person dedicates to their job—including total working hours, percentage of the overworked population, commuting times, and vacation time.

Given the economic fallout from the pandemic, the latest unemployment figures and the percentage of people who have undertaken multiple jobs in order to get by were measured.

The index also considers the extent to which citizens receive equal treatment, access to state-funded health and welfare programs, institutional support for equality and social inclusivity on gender and LGBTQ+ communities.

It also considers the impact of Covid, restrictions on movement, the overall economic impact, and the projected percentage change in employment as a consequence.

According to the 2020 index, Oslo in Norway took out the number one place as the city offering the best work-life balance. Followed by Helsinki in Finland and Danish capital Copenhagen ranked third.

Germany was home to three cities, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, in the top ten list.

The company first explored the topic of work-life balance in its 2019 index, identifying the cities whose residents had the most well-rounded work-life balance. It says the index is not designed to be a city liveability index or used to highlight the best cities to work in.

“Instead, it is designed to be a guideline which supports the fulfilment of residents’ lives by improving the aspects of life which help relieve work-related stress and intensity,” it notes.

The index found the most overworked employees lived in cities Seoul in South Korea, Milan Italy and Budapest in Hungary.

2020 work-life balance index

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