These are the best cities for work-life balance

Helsinki, Munich, and Oslo have topped an index as the cities promoting the most holistic work-life balance, compared to the most overworked cities of Tokyo, Singapore and Washington D.C.

The study, by mobile access technology firm Kisi, says that on average, employees in Barcelona (30.5 days) and Paris (30 days) take advantage of the most amount of vacation days offered per year, whereas residents in San Francisco (9.7 days), San Diego (9.7 days), Washington D.C. (9.4 days), and Los Angeles (9.1 days) take the least.

London ranks #12 out of 40 for work-life balance worldwide.

By comparing data on work intensity, institutional support, legislation, and livability, Kisi says it has attempted to produce a ranking of cities based on their success in promoting work-life balance to their citizens.

To begin the study, a shortlist of in-demand metropolises worldwide with sufficient, reliable, and relevantdatasets were selected. 40 cities were finalized to include those known for attracting professionals andfamilies for their work opportunities and diverse lifestyle offerings.

As the first installation of a continuous study, this index aims to include a larger selection of cities in future iterations as data becomes morewidely available. Each city’s overall work-life score was evaluated based on a series of factors related to the amount oftime a person dedicates to their job—such as total working hours, commuting, vacation days taken, andpaid maternal leave.

Next, Kisi researchers measured the extent to which different types of individuals ina city receive equal treatment. As a result, a person’s level of parity was evaluated by their accessibility tostate-funded health and welfare programs, as well as their gender and LGBT+ equality score.

Each city’s overall livability score was then determined through a compilation of indicators, as it must facilitate itsresidents’ lifestyle patterns to be a desirable place to live.

Finally, Kisi measured the well-being of eachcity’s workers through their overall happiness and freedom, allowing researchers to determine whetherresidents can enjoy their surrounding environment after office hours.

The result is an index encompassing 20 factors determining the top 40 metropolises around the world who recognize the importance of a work-life balance, and encourage it both directly and indirectly through policies and urban infrastructure.

To see the full study, click here.