Which Country Boasts the Best Workplace Environments?

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17 May 2022

Lockdown remote working taught us the importance of workplace wellbeing, so which countries offer the best workplace environments around the world?

Acuity Training has researched the best countries for workplace environments to give people a clearer understanding of the most positive places to work around the world.

They looked at various factors including minimum wage, entitled break time and maternity leave, giving ten countries a score out of 200 and finally ranked them.

Acuity Training’s Director Ben Richardson said: ‘’As more and more people are contemplating starting over, especially since the pandemic began, we wanted to provide those considering a move abroad with the best countries to work in, to help with this difficult decision.

 

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1. Netherlands

 

The Netherlands which is located between Belgium and Germany ranked in first place, scoring 141 out of 200 points. The country is famous for its cheese, wooden shoes, traditional Dutch homes and coffee shops. The Netherlands was also named the third best country for work-life balance in a 2011 report from the OECD.

The minimum wage in the Netherlands is £8.50, entitled break time is 30 minutes and maternity leave is 16 weeks paid.

 

2. France

 

France came in second place, scoring 141 out of 200 points. The country boasts some of the most beautiful cities in the world while providing a substantial amount of holidays per year.

In 2017, France adopted a law which included the “right to disconnect”. This means that employers cannot interrupt their workers with calls or emails outside of work hours.

The minimum wage in France is £9.07, entitled break time is 20 minutes and maternity leave is 16 weeks paid.

 

3. Belgium

 

In third place is Belgium, scoring 138 out of 200 points. Belgium is a country best known for its famous chocolate and beer, the country is also home to NATO headquarters. 

The people of Belgium expect elegant clothing and good punctuality as the norm within the work environment. The minimum wage in Belgium is £8.39, entitled break time is 15 minutes and maternity leave is 15 weeks paid.

 

4. Norway

 

Norway, which is located in Northern Europe and occupies the western half of Scandinavia placed third and scored 136 out of 200 points.

The country places emphasis on equality in the workplace regardless of an employee’s gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or political views. 

According to Norway Today, punctuality and timekeeping are pillars of working culture in the country: "If you show up late to any sort of agreed-upon meeting or event (be it business or personal), it’s considered to be largely disrespectful."

There is no minimum wage in Norway, entitled break time is 30 minutes and maternity leave is 15 weeks paid.

 

5. Ireland

 

Finalising the top five is Ireland, with a score of 136 out of 200 points. Their work environment is very similar to that of the United Kingdom. The minimum wage in Ireland is £8.75, entitled break time is 30 minutes and maternity leave is 26 weeks paid.

Several large technology companies have significant bases in Ireland, such as Google, PayPal, Intel and IBM.

Of the ten countries for the best workplace environments that were ranked, the remainder of the list in order read:

 

1. Germany (116 points) 
2. Sweden (113 points)
3. New Zealand (112 points)
4. Iceland (108 points) 
5. Czech Republic (107 points)
6. Canada (107 points)
7. Switzerland (96 points)
8. Austria (86 points)
9. Israel (80 points)
10. United States (64 points)

 

Picture: a photograph of several high rise buildings in Amsterdam. Image Credit: Pexels

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 17 May 2022

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