A recent study has ranked two Dutch cities as some of the best places in the world for workers looking for a good work-life balance, with both Amsterdam and Rotterdam claiming spots in the top 20. 

Worldwide Work-Life Balance Index 2023

Published by Forbes Advisor, the Worldwide Work-Life Balance Index 2023 examined 128 cities around the world, in order to determine which “fare best when it comes to workers’ well-being”. The study assessed each city according to 10 factors in order to award each with an overall score out of 100. The factors analysed included: 

• World Happiness Index ranking
• Gender Inequality Index ranking
• Average working hours
• Minimum legal annual leave (excluding public holidays)
• Property price to income ratio 
• Proportion of remote and hybrid jobs
• Maternity leave policy
• Parks and nature reserves per capita
• Unemployment rate
• Sunlight hours

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top spots were dominated by cities in Nordic countries, with Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm taking the top spots. Outside of Europe, Forbes Advisor found that the city offering the best work-life balance was Auckland, New Zealand, with Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney also claiming spots in the top 25. 

Dutch cities still among the best in the world for work-life balance

While Amsterdam didn’t manage to score a place in the top 10, the Dutch capital achieved a very respectable 12th place, receiving an overall score of 55,6 out of 100. However, it isn’t the only city in the Netherlands to feature in the ranking, with Rotterdam coming in 20th place with a slightly lower score of 52,7.

As should be expected, both cities achieved the same results across some of the categories, including the average working hours per week (26,9), the score in the Happiness Index (7,46) and ranking in the Gender Inequality Index (fifth place), the amount of annual paid leave (20 days), and the national rate of unemployment (4,01 percent).

Amsterdam did particularly well when it came to the number of parks and nature reserves per capita (58), but was outperformed by Rotterdam when it came to the cost of buying a house and the weather; while Amsterdam sees 1.670 hours of sunshine a year, Rotterdam sees 1.722. 

Perhaps surprisingly, however, both cities performed poorly in the remote / hybrid jobs category - according to Forbs Advisor, 20 percent of vacancies in the Dutch capital and just 10 percent of jobs in Rotterdam were for remote positions. 

Cities with the best work-life balance

According to Forbes Advisor, the 10 cities offering the best work-life balance are: 

1. Copenhagen, Denmark (70,5 out of 100)
2. Helsinki, Finland (65,1)
3. Stockholm, Sweden (64,8)
4. Oslo, Norway (63,2)
5. Auckland, New Zealand (62,7)
6. Gothenburg, Sweden (60,7)
7. Reykjavik, Iceland (58,7)
8. Vienna, Austria (58,5)
9. Edinburgh, Scotland (57,1)
10. Belfast, Northern Ireland (57)

For more information about the study, visit the Forbes Advisor website.

Thumb: DimaBerlin via Shutterstock.com.