The U.S. and Europe: Different Approaches on Work-Life Balance

Workers in the United States trail other high-income countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of work-life balance. The U.S. tops the list in terms of yearly hours worked and falls significantly behind other countries when looking at efforts to improve work-life balance. The European Union (EU) explicitly forbids an employer to hire workers for a regular workweek of more than 48 hours. There is no equivalent restriction in the United States. While this restriction doesn’t limit hours of workers who hold more than one job or are self-employed, it is indicative of the general attitude on work-life balance in the EU.