Iceland could do better on work-life balance

Icelanders devote ninety minutes less per day to leisure and personal care than the average Dane or Spaniard, according to the OECD’s 2015 Better Life Index.

Icelanders are estimated to spend on average 14.48 hours per day on things such as indoor and outdoor leisure activities, personal care activities and medical or personal services. Only nine countries in the list of 36 analysed in the OECD report (see here) have lower rates than Iceland. Denmark and Spain top the list with 16.06 hours.

Equally, Iceland places high when it comes to hours worked per day. The percentage of ‘employees working very long hours’ (defined in the study as fifty hours or more per week) is 12.25%. This is the tenth highest rate in the sample of 36 countries. In Turkey, the corresponding figure is a whopping 40.86%, while in Russia it is just 0.16%.