The working week can look very different depending on the country you are working in, with many factors like paid time off, working hours and minimum wages varying wildly from place to place. This is something that expats will need to consider when making the decision to up sticks and move to another country for work, as they may be surprised by the level of workplace benefits differing from what they're used to.
Factors such as paid annual leave, public holidays and maternity leave are just a few examples of where countries can differ in their approach. For example, if you’re looking to move abroad for work you could see your annual leave allowance increased in some places or harshly reduced in others. Additionally, if you were to go backpacking, study abroad or travel somewhere on a working holiday visa, then the local minimum wage could be a very important factor in making your trip affordable.
While there are many things to consider before making the decision to migrate for a new life in another part of the world, such as international health insurance or global income protection, we wanted to investigate some of the different employment benefits across the world to reveal the countries that could be the most attractive for prospective expats.
Here we can see which countries are the most attractive for workers and potential expats as they offer the most benefits and best working conditions in the OECD.
Work & Employment Score:
Denmark is the country with the best workplace benefits, receiving the highest work and employment score of 7.54. Performing well across the board, Denmark combines average high salaries with low working hours, well-protected workers’ rights, and a minimum of 25 days of annual leave.
Work & Employment Score:
In second place is Finland, which just missed out on the top spot with a work and employment score of 7.46. Finland also performs well across most factors, with a particularly high score on the Labour Rights Index, indicating that Finland really is a country that cares about the average worker.
Work & Employment Score:
In third place is Norway, which earned a respectable work and employment score of 6.99. While Norway performs relatively well across our metrics, slightly lower scores on the Labour Rights Index, minimum wage and public holidays prevent the country from placing higher.
Interestingly, Nordic countries make up all three of the top places for workplace benefits and conditions, suggesting that the workplace culture in Scandinavia and the Baltic region is much more supportive of workers than elsewhere around the world.
These are the worst countries in the OECD for workers’ rights and benefits, making them much less attractive for prospective expats looking to work in another part of the world.
Work & Employment Score:
Mexico is the country with the worst work and employment score of 0.47. This is much lower than any other country in our study and is due to a combination of low wages, annual leave and public holidays, as well as long working hours and systematic violations of workers’ rights in the country.
Work & Employment Score:
The USA is the second worst country for work conditions and benefits, having received a work and employment score of just 2.37. Workers in the USA are the only ones to receive no guaranteed maternity leave or paid public holidays and annual leave. These leave policies are left entirely up to the discretion of individual companies.
Work & Employment Score:
Greece has the third worst work and employment score in our study at 2.89. This is due to low salaries, long working hours and there being a poor record when it comes to the protection of workers’ rights.
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Labour Rights Index Score |
Average Salary |
Weeks of Maternity Leave |
Average Weekly Working Hours |
Annual Minimum Wage |
Minimum Paid Annual Leave |
Minimum Paid Public Holidays |
Workers' Rights Violations |
Work & Employment Score /10 |
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The Labour Rights Index is a comprehensive and legally recognised Index that allows the comparison of objective legal data of the labour market in 115 countries. This provides a good indication of the legal protections that workers are afforded across the world.
Labour Rights Index score:
Lithuania has the highest score on the Labour Rights Index at 96 out of 100, indicating that it’s a great place for workers to earn a living in decent conditions. This is followed by Finland on 93.5, while Portugal and Latvia are tied for third place with a score of 93.
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Labour Rights Index |
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Salaries are one of the most important factors when it comes to the world of work, as your pay is the very reason you have a job in the first place. Decent remuneration for the work you do is central to making employment worthwhile and beneficial to any worker.
Average Salary:
The USA has the highest average salary in our study at US$74,738, which is more than US$12,000 higher than any other country with workers in second-place Denmark earning US$62,054 on average. This very high salary contrasts with the USA’ very poor performance in most other factors, suggesting that while the country might not have fantastic working conditions, workers are at least well remunerated for their efforts.
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Highest Salaries |
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Here we can see which countries have the longest periods of maternity leave for new mothers. While there are differences between the amount of leave that is paid and unpaid, as well as the proportion of pay received while on maternity leave, we focus on the maximum leave period regardless of these factors.
Weeks of Maternity Leave:
Estonia offers the highest amount of maternity leave of any country in our study at 62 weeks. With over a year of time-off offered to new mothers, this Baltic country is at the forefront of guaranteeing women a supportive workplace if they become pregnant. This huge amount of leave is 10 weeks more than even the second-placed UK, which offers new mothers 52 weeks of maternity leave, though some of these weeks can be split with fathers as shared parental leave.
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Country |
Weeks of Maternity Leave |
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Many of us dream of a shorter working week with more time for family, friends and the things that matter to us. In this section, we reveal the top countries in our study for having low average working hours.
Average Weekly Working Hours:
Denmark has the lowest average weekly working hours of any country in our study at just 26.48. This means that Danes have the most free time in their week to pursue hobbies and enjoy their lives to the fullest. Denmark is closely followed by Norway with an average of 26.54 working hours, while Germany takes third place with an average working week of 26.58 hours.
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Country |
Average Working Hours |
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While average wages can be a good indicator of the overall prosperity of a nation’s workforce, the minimum reveals just how much a country values its lowest-paid workers. Here we can see the countries with the best minimum wages in our study.
Annual Minimum Wage:
New Zealand has the highest annual minimum wage of US$29,051, making it the best country for low-skilled workers or those in low-paying sectors. Neighbouring Australia takes second place with an annual minimum wage of US$28,734, suggesting that Oceania is a great region for picking up casual work, which is a must for any backpacker or working holiday maker. The rest of the top-performing countries are all located in Northern Europe, indicating another regional stronghold of high minimum wages.
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Country |
Weeks Minimum Wage |
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Having decent paid time off is incredibly important for allowing workers to recharge, relax and pursue their passions without having to worry about keeping up with bills while they do so. However, the amount of paid annual leave you are entitled to can vary considerably depending on your country of work, with some offering substantially more than others.
Minimum Paid Annual Leave:
Estonia has the highest minimum amount of paid annual leave at 28 days, giving workers the time to enjoy life away from the grind and pursue their own interests. This is three more days than any other country in our study, with seven countries encompassing all of Scandinavia and much of Europe offering 25. The Iberian countries of Spain and Portugal also offer a higher than average amount of paid annual leave at 22 days each.
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Minimum Paid Annual Leave |
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Public holidays are a great leveller, giving workers of all industries and sectors the opportunity to take time off and spend time with their loved ones or pursue their favourite pastime. Often centred around cultural events, public holidays are also important for building a sense of community and bringing people together to share in celebrations.
Minimum Paid Public Holidays:
Japan has the highest number of paid public holidays in our study, with 16 days of national holiday each year. While the East Asian country has one of the lowest amounts of paid annual leave, the more collectivist and community-focused culture means that public holidays are much more culturally important, with various festivals and celebrations taking place throughout the year. For example, “Golden Week” is a period of celebration that stretches from the end of April into early May and contains four separate public holidays including Greenery Day and Children’s Day.
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Minimum Paid Public Holidays |
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While most countries have laws in place to protect the rights of workers and ensure they are treated fairly in the workplace, not all countries have a great record of enforcing these laws. Here we can see the countries where such rights violations are the least common.
Sporadic violations of rights:
One-third of the countries in our study received the best rating when in regard to workers’ rights violations, indicating that such instances are uncommon and only occur sporadically. These countries are spread out across Europe, stretching from Norway, Sweden and Finland in the North all the way to Italy in the South.
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Country |
Workers' Rights Violations |
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We wanted to find out which countries are the best locations for workplace conditions and benefits. To do this, we collected data from a range of sources covering a wide variety of factors that could impact the fair treatment of workers.
In order to compare the rights of workers in similarly developed economies, we restricted our study to 30 OECD countries, with the remainder not being included due to incomplete data.
OECD data was used to reveal the average salaries in each country, while data from the Penn World Table was used to find the average hours worked. We used data from the Labour Rights Index to assess the protections afforded to workers in each country, while data from the International Trade Union Confederation’s Global Rights Index was used to reveal the countries where workers’ rights are most commonly violated.
These factors were then supplemented by data from Wikipedia covering the minimum wage in each country, as well as maternity leave and the minimum paid public holidays and annual leave.
Not all of the countries in our study have a national minimum wage set by the government, instead using trade bodies and union organisations to determine minimum pay, which can vary by industry. We used alternative sources of data to find the comparative minimum wages in these countries, which were Finland, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Sweden and Norway.
We then converted all minimum wage and average wage data from USD into both GBP and EUR using xe.com (converted on 03/08/22), thereby giving readers the opportunity to view this data in the currency of their choice.
