Special Report
As Emma Grede Slams Work-Life Balance, Here Are the Cities That Have the Best Balance of Work and Home
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The responsibility of work-life balance lies with the employee, or so says Emma Grede. The entrepreneur created successful women’s bodywear company Skims alongside her husband and Kim Kardashian. She recently made headlines for what some consider a “harsh take” on work-life balance. As a mother of four, she recognizes the need to address how to have a successful career while also functioning at home, but she places that burden on the employee, not the employer. “When somebody talks to me about their work-life balance in an interview process, I’m, like, ‘Something is wrong with you,’” Grede confessed.
Work-life balance is an ongoing issue, particularly in the United States where more is always better, and particularly for women. In modern-day culture, many females are prioritizing their careers, yet they continue to spend much more time than their male counterparts at household chores and childcaring, according to the Pew Research Center. Date shows that even among women who work similar hours as their husbands, they are taking on a much greater portion of activities like maintaining the home and looking after children.
To determine the 50 cities with the best work-life balance around the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the report Cities with the Best Work-Life Balance 2022 by Kisi, a cloud-based access control company. The report ranked 51 U.S. cities and 49 global cities for work-life balance based on 19 measures in three areas: work intensity, society and institutions, and city liveability. According to Kisi, the data was sourced from “international organizations, NGO reports, open access datasets, public surveys and crowdsourcing platforms. Significant outliers and missing data at city level were inferred from national statistics.”
When looking at the United States, only 13 cities made the list, with Seattle ranking the highest. It scored just above 88 (out of 100). The smaller number of American cities when compared to European cities comes down to a handful of factors, such as fewer paid leave days and lower healthcare scores. One country that scored exceptionally well, landing nine cities on this list, is Germany. This is in part due to the country’s high number of vacation days per year, which can be up to 20. Other contenders are Canada and Switzerland.
Here are the cities with the best work-life balance
50. Barcelona, Spain
> Pct. of remote jobs: 31.7 — 2nd lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 22 — 12th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 126.7 — 22nd lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 97.0 — 11th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 79.8 — 6th lowest
> Total score: 84.9
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49. Sacramento, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 40.3 — 22nd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 117.0 — 18th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 88.0 — 6th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 83.0 — 15th lowest
> Total score: 84.9
48. Raleigh, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 41.3 — 20th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 88.7 — 9th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.0 — 21st lowest
> Total score: 85.3
47. Virginia Beach, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 34.6 — 3rd lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 87.9 — 4th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 82.4 — 10th lowest
> Total score: 85.3
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46. Denver, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 42.6 — 14th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 88.1 — 7th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 83.3 — 16th lowest
> Total score: 85.6
45. Singapore
> Pct. of remote jobs: 52.1 — the highest
> Minimum vacation days: 7 — the lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 119.0 — 19th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 93.6 — 18th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 77.6 — 3rd lowest
> Total score: 85.7
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44. San Diego, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 39.5 — 23rd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 117.0 — 18th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 88.6 — 8th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 86.5 — 20th highest
> Total score: 85.8
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43. Omaha, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.9 — 25th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 89.5 — 11th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 82.9 — 14th lowest
> Total score: 86.0
42. Madrid, Spain
> Pct. of remote jobs: 31.7 — 2nd lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 22 — 12th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 126.7 — 22nd lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 97.9 — 9th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 81.4 — 9th lowest
> Total score: 86.9
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41. Washington, D.C., USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 49.8 — 2nd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 40.0 — 10th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 86.6 — 3rd lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 88.2 — 15th highest
> Total score: 87.1
40. Brussels, Belgium
> Pct. of remote jobs: 42.3 — 15th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 361.2 — 21st highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.4 — 22nd lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 77.3 — 2nd lowest
> Total score: 87.2
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39. San Francisco, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.8 — 6th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 117.0 — 18th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 86.5 — the lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 93.1 — 6th highest
> Total score: 87.3
38. Boston, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.4 — 7th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 90.7 — 13th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 86.3 — 22nd highest
> Total score: 87.6
37. Dublin, Ireland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.7 — 23rd lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 182.0 — 25th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 86.6 — 3rd lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 89.9 — 11th highest
> Total score: 87.6
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36. Salt Lake City, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 43.3 — 13th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 88.0 — 6th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 84.4 — 18th lowest
> Total score: 87.8
35. Minneapolis, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 41.1 — 21st highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 91.6 — 14th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 88.0 — 17th highest
> Total score: 88.1
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34. Vienna, Austria
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 7th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 480.9 — 6th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 93.8 — 20th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 83.7 — 17th lowest
> Total score: 88.2
33. Portland (OR), USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.5 — 22nd lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 89.3 — 10th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 86.4 — 21st highest
> Total score: 88.2
32. Seattle, USA
> Pct. of remote jobs: 42.3 — 16th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 0.0 — 9th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 89.9 — 12th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 90.7 — 9th highest
> Total score: 88.4
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31. Manchester, England
> Pct. of remote jobs: 43.5 — 9th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 28 — the highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 287.0 — 22nd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 95.5 — 19th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 82.7 — 13th lowest
> Total score: 89.1
30. Calgary, Canada
> Pct. of remote jobs: 37.8 — 21st lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 364.0 — 16th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 97.0 — 11th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 78.7 — 4th lowest
> Total score: 89.4
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29. Graz, Austria
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 7th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 70.0 — 11th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 93.4 — 17th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 89.4 — 13th highest
> Total score: 89.4
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28. Paris, France
> Pct. of remote jobs: 37.7 — 17th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 490.0 — 4th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 95.9 — 17th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 84.9 — 20th lowest
> Total score: 89.7
27. London, England
> Pct. of remote jobs: 43.5 — 9th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 28 — the highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 287.0 — 22nd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.6 — 23rd lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 89.5 — 12th highest
> Total score: 89.7
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26. Cologne, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.2 — 21st lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 90.1
25. Glasgow, Scotland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 43.5 — 9th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 28 — the highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 287.0 — 22nd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.8 — 22nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 82.7 — 13th lowest
> Total score: 90.7
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24. Liverpool, England
> Pct. of remote jobs: 43.5 — 9th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 28 — the highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 287.0 — 22nd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 98.0 — 8th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 82.7 — 13th lowest
> Total score: 90.7
23. Bremen, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.8 — 22nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 90.7
22. Berlin, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 92.9 — 16th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 93.8 — 5th highest
> Total score: 90.8
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21. Dusseldorf, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.8 — 22nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 90.9
20. Frankfurt am Main, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.7 — 24th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 91.1
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19. Toronto, Canada
> Pct. of remote jobs: 37.8 — 21st lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 364.0 — 16th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 97.2 — 10th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 90.1 — 10th highest
> Total score: 91.1
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18. Hamburg, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.9 — 21st highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 79.9 — 7th lowest
> Total score: 91.8
17. Auckland, New Zealand
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.3 — 4th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 126.0 — 20th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 92.3 — 15th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 84.5 — 19th lowest
> Total score: 92.1
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16. Vancouver, Canada
> Pct. of remote jobs: 37.8 — 21st lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 364.0 — 16th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 96.8 — 13th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 79.6 — 5th lowest
> Total score: 92.2
15. Leipzig, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.8 — 22nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 92.5
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14. Tokyo, Japan
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.5 — 5th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 770.0 — 2nd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 99.3 — 3rd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 73.6 — the lowest
> Total score: 92.5
13. Amsterdam, Netherlands
> Pct. of remote jobs: 41.5 — 18th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 114.8 — 15th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 95.6 — 18th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 86.3 — 22nd highest
> Total score: 92.6
12. Melbourne, Australia
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.8 — 25th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 140.0 — 24th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 98.3 — 7th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 95.4 — 4th highest
> Total score: 92.8
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11. Stockholm, Sweden
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.2 — 8th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 490.0 — 4th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 96.0 — 16th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 88.1 — 16th highest
> Total score: 93.3
10. Munich, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 95.4 — 20th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 87.0 — 19th highest
> Total score: 93.7
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9. Stuttgart, Germany
> Pct. of remote jobs: 36.7 — 16th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 466.9 — 7th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 93.8 — 20th lowest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 85.5 — 24th highest
> Total score: 93.8
8. Sydney, Australia
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.8 — 25th lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 140.0 — 24th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 99.0 — 6th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 87.7 — 18th highest
> Total score: 94.0
7. Ottawa, Canada
> Pct. of remote jobs: 37.8 — 21st lowest
> Minimum vacation days: 10 — 19th lowest
> Days of paid parental leave: 364.0 — 16th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 96.7 — 14th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 81.4 — 9th lowest
> Total score: 95.5
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6. Geneva, Switzerland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.9 — 3rd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 98.0 — 14th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 99.1 — 5th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 100.0 — the highest
> Total score: 95.8
5. Copenhagen, Denmark
> Pct. of remote jobs: 41.4 — 19th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 364.0 — 16th highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 94.8 — 22nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 92.5 — 7th highest
> Total score: 96.2
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4. Zurich, Switzerland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.9 — 3rd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 98.0 — 14th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 99.2 — 4th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 91.5 — 8th highest
> Total score: 96.3
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3. Helsinki, Finland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 38.9 — 24th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 1,190.0 — the highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 96.7 — 14th highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 96.3 — 3rd highest
> Total score: 99.2
2. Bern, Switzerland
> Pct. of remote jobs: 44.9 — 3rd highest
> Minimum vacation days: 20 — 14th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 98.0 — 14th lowest
> Health care score (out of 100): 99.6 — 2nd highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 100.0 — the highest
> Total score: 99.5
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1. Oslo, Norway
> Pct. of remote jobs: 41.7 — 17th highest
> Minimum vacation days: 25 — 5th highest
> Days of paid parental leave: 707.0 — 3rd highest
> Health care score (out of 100): 100.0 — the highest
> Happiness, culture, and leisure score (out of 100): 88.8 — 14th highest
> Total score: 100.0
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