There are many factors and measures that contribute to achieving a good work-life balance. This is the full 2025 Work-Life Balance Ranking. Comparing developed countries, Surprisingly, Switzerland ranks 21st among the last between developed countries, even with a slight improvement in the index compared to 2024, reaching 60.32. Does this reflect the reality of most workers and meet expectations?
Switzerland is among the last among developed countries in work-life balance in 2025.
byu/Basic_Bird_8843 inSwitzerland
Posted by Basic_Bird_8843
32 Comments
Work is life!
at least we’re rich
it is hardly surprising, everyone is so focused on work here. add the cultural element of being really closed off to people they don’t know. you just kind of give up socializing at some point, except at work
Our willingness to work the extra hour is one of the best things that have happened to this country.
It’s just based on the official facts. In no other country I lived in did I see more people reduce work to 80 or less percent because it’s enough or have time for school events in the middle of the day. Never trust a statistic you didn’t fake yourself.
“The index measures key factors such as statutory leave, average working hours, safety, inclusivity, and access to healthcare”
Lol, no wonder considering avg work hours here and cost of healthcare. At least the pay is good
And yet everyone is always surprised that they actually need to work more here than they did in their home country even after signing a 50h contract (looking especially to our neighbours in the north).
is this the work life balance of office people or construction workers?
probably it dosent even sum up all the working fields, maybe the boss etage?
The official working hour is already longer than most developed countries. Normally it is 40 hours including lunch hour. Here many companies do 42 excluding lunch hour, so it is easily a 47 hour work week. Not even talking about overtime here.
Working is good, this is why Switzerland is rich
Yep, I can tell with personal experience that this is the case.
I’m Swiss but have lived in other countries in Europe, so I was able to compare my work/life balance.
In Switzerland it’s extremely common to reduce the work week from 100 to 80, but you still end working 100 but at 20% being overtime.
Then, life in Switzerland is not the same for everyone. People in this sub seem to think that everyone has a very high end job that can provide them with a very luxurious Lifestyle.
For normal jobs, your life can be quite stressful because life is centered around work in Switzerland. Living for the weekends only and the summer vacations is quite common.
It’s also common to do the typical routine of waking up early, working until late, going home to cook, sleep and doing the same the next day until Friday comes.
I lived in southern Spain for almost 4 years and I can say that my life there was completely different. I had stuff I could do after work, almost every single day.
I could go to the beach, I could go to my circle of friends to hang out in the sun and eat a small meal while chatting, etc.
The same never happened to me in Switzerland.
Don’t find it suprising at all lol
[work life balance](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvaBvAAgTVw/?igsh=amYzYmFhOXZ3MGUw)
That’s probably why Switzerland is a rich country where everything *works*. Sorry to say.
If you build it they will come. Switzerland is looking very, very attractive right now.
No expats are surprised by this at all I can tell you that.
Well yes, I worked in a Scandinavian country before. 100% for me there was 37.5 hours (lunch break included), 6 weeks of holidays. Colleagues pick up their kids before 16:00. Pay was also good and home ownership also no problem. Compare that to here…
I wanted to live close to my family so back home to CH. But WLB, well, not surprised we rank low. Zwingli rules with iron fist. 😉
Not sure what this “life” is that everybody is talking about. Must be some foreign invention. We definitively don’t have this here.
And thats why it is important for us to vote, dont let old boomer dictate how much we have to work
>Does this reflect the reality of most workers
It doesn’t reflect mine at all. I have a great work-life balance working 60% and would likely not earn enough money with a similar job abroad.
I just make my own work life balance
-sent from my phone, at work
Ask men working in construction, cleaning, and factories what they think of this information. People work nights or three shifts. You guys here on Reddit live in a bubble. It’s easy to agree with that when most of you work in easy jobs. There is no social life for most men doing manual labor.
How surprising, lmao :]
I love to work. There is nothing better than work. I feel blessed when I have a lot of work and when they need me.
These rankings usually demote Switzerland for long standard working hours, which is fair. What they fail to reflect is that the Swiss earn enough to afford the highest share of part-time work in the developed world (38.4%, vs. OECD 15.1%).
Well, nothing in life comes for free. It’s true that some things should be improved, but I also think that many European countries have been very “generous” during the good years and now they are paying the consecuences…
“surprisingly”? Come on dude 🤣
No no but the economists says we need to increase productivity
It’s true
born in South Korea, moved to LA and came to Switzerland for work. I feel my life is getting better according to the ranking lol
I’ve been working 11 hours per day for 6 months on a one role salary. Tell me about jt ha!
the ROI of working more in CH is higher due to the low tax, not much sense to do extra work if your salary is taxed >50% as in some EU countries