REVEALED: Australia's Terrible Work-Life Balance

We're one of the worst.


Article heading image for REVEALED: Australia's Terrible Work-Life Balance

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Australia leads the world on issues like health and environmental quality, but there's one we still struggle with: work-life balance.

The country remains in the bottom third of OECD countries, according to the latest two-yearly report card from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

"Australia’s Welfare 2017 shows that while we have made some inroads into achieving work-life balance, we are still among the bottom third of OECD countries when it comes to working long hours," Director and CEO Barry Sandison said.

In 2015, 20 per cent of men and 7 per cent of women in paid employment worked 50 hours or more per week.

The figure has fallen from 26 per cent and 8 per cent, however the country remains 27th out of 35 countries.

"Regardless of the number of hours worked, if an individual’s preferences did not align with their working hours, they reported lower levels of satisfaction and poorer mental health.

"This was true for both underemployed and overemployed workers," Mr Sandison said.

18 October 2017




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