Work-life balance is an increasingly important topic when it comes to searching for jobs nowadays. Working to live instead of living to work is becoming the norm, and Edinburgh is officially the best place in the UK for a harmonious working life. Therefore, it comes as no surprise a new study by Forbes Advisor has named Edinburgh one of the best cities in the world for work-life balance.
In the study, Edinburgh claimed ninth place, making it the highest ranking UK city within the list. Belfast also followed in the tenth spot, with the only two UK cities in the world’s top ten list.
Copenhagen is the best in the world for work-life balance, with a work-life balance score of 70.5. Helsinki and Stockholm also took second and third place, with scores of 65.1 and 64.8.
To determine the scores, the study analysed the World Happiness Index ranking, gender inequality index ranking, average working hours and property price to income ratio, as well as proportion of remote and hybrid working vacancies, parks and nature reserves per capita and sunlight hours.
Edinburgh has a 7.06 Happiness Index Score, 25.6 average working week hours, 28 days of average annual leave and 1440 hours of sunlight a year, with a work-life balance score of 57.1.
Kevin Pratt, Business Expert at Forbes Advisor commented: “It is highly beneficial for businesses to prioritise and support employees’ work-life balance – not only from a human perspective but because happy and rested employees are likely to perform better at work. They may also be less likely to call in sick or take extended time off due to stress or longer-term health problems.”
“Happy employees are also likely to remain in their roles for longer, reducing the considerable time and costs associated with recruiting new staff. Businesses that strive to provide an environment that encourages and supports a healthy work-life balance will also attract the best candidates. And, of course, a business’ success – financial and otherwise – is almost entirely down to its people.”