Here's a look at how work-life balance compares in the US, France, Australia, and the UK

• American expatriates are increasingly discussing the differences in work-life balance across the globe. 
• Parental leave, PTO days, and overall workload are all topics intriguing workers.
• Insider compared the work-life balance of the US, France, Australia, and the UK.

Americans expatriates are questioning how work-life balance in the US compares to other countries after moving overseas and finding vastly different policies on paid leave and working hours.

The topic is gaining traction on social media, where users like American abroad Brooke Laven are contemplating the international differences in how we work and live. In a February TikTok, Laven expressed her shock and dismay over the average paid time off US workers receive compared to full-timers in Australia, where she is currently based. 

Laven said in the video she was offered four weeks of PTO for every 12 months she worked at her Australia-based job. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average number of paid vacations after one year was 13 days in 2021.

"I knew American working rights are bad, but I didn't know how bad until I got my Australian full-time contract," Laven said in the video.

The clip prompted Insider to look into how work-life balance in the US compares to other developed countries like the UK, France, and Australia. Here's what we found.  

US

On the whole, work-life balance is best in North American and European countries when compared to the rest of the world, but overworking is still a global concern, according to a report by the UN's International Labor Organization. The report found that more than a third of all international workers are on the job at least 48 hours per week.

In the US, employees worked more than in the UK, France, and Australia at an average of 1,750 hours per year, the report found. Although the standard full-time workweek is 40 hours, the average US worker is clocking 400 hours more annually.

Some US companies — including Basecamp, Panasonic, and ThredUP — are looking to cut down on those hours by implementing a four-day workweek. And last week, Rep. Mark Takano of California reintroduced a bill in the US House that would take the national 40-hour standard down to a 32-hour workweek, Insider reported. 

The trend of "quiet quitting," or choosing not to do more than the listed job responsibilities, has gained traction with American workers as they try to stave off professional burnout. It follows the Great Resignation, which earned it's name in 2021 after professionals began quitting their jobs in droves to find more fulfilling opportunities.

As for parental leave, Americans are entitled to take 12 unpaid weeks off from work when they welcome a new child under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and are guaranteed to have job protection during that period.

UK

In a 2023 worldwide work-life balance index by Forbes, the UK claimed five spots in the top 25 cities with the best work-life balance.

The highest-ranked city in the UK is Edinburgh, Scotland, at number nine, recognized for its 28-day annual leave policy, according to the Forbes report. Edinburgh's maternity leave offers a minimum of 39 weeks' pay and one year of maternity leave compared to three months in the US.

In a TikTok video, one American expat living in London said she'd moved to England for a better work-life balance, but ended up "working more than she worked in the (US) for 40% less pay." Users echoed her frustrations with the UK in the comments.

"Moving to London for a better work-life balance is just plain crazy! people move OUT of London for that. Good luck though," one TikToker wrote.

A pilot program in the UK saw dozens of companies participate in the world's largest trial of the four-day workweek, and 90% of them said they wouldn't go back to five days a week, per the Washington Post.

France

Netflix's "Emily in Paris" painted the picture of late starts, luxuriously long meal breaks, and no work conversations at parties — a depiction that appears to be somewhat erroneous.

Though the City of Light didn't make it to the Forbes list, full-time workers in France get 30 days of annual leave, while mothers can get up to 26 weeks of maternity leave. 

While French employees minimize work-related conversations outside of the office, they don't show up late in the day, à la Emily. But as Marie Culleron, a 23-year-old bid project manager who commutes to Paris daily for work, pointed out, it's up to the company's policy. She also highlighted that newer generations tend to have better boundaries.

"I'm among those who think it's important to have a work-life balance," Culleron told Insider. "We only have one life and we shouldn't want to spend it working all the time, regardless of whether it is a fulfilling job."

She continued: "Once you log off, that's it. You're done for the day. Social media can attest to people sharing the same views. Young people refuse to let work immerse itself in their private life."

But this mentality is a "double-edged sword" for companies because younger people do not feel as guilty to leave for a better opportunity if it presents itself, Culleron added.

Much of France also takes almost all of August off. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that half of all salaried employees in France were on vacation during the first three weeks of August, citing data from the national statistics agency Insee.

David Achille, distribution director for sports newspaper L'Equipe, told the Journal at the time: "You call, no one answers. You send an email, no one answers."

Australia

Australia had two of its biggest cities making the top 25, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively ranking 18 and 22, according to the Forbes report. 

It found that Australians worked between 32 to 38 hours a week on average. They get 20 days of PTO, excluding bank holidays, and mothers can receive from 60 days to 16 weeks of maternity leave. 

While Australia didn't get to the top 10, its neighbor, New Zealand ranked in sixth place, where a full-time employee works 26 hours a week on average. 

About 20 organizations in Australia and New Zealand trialed the four-day work week for six months from August last year. Senators backed the concept and said they should try it for a year, as well as double up the amount of parental leave, according to The Guardian.

"The work-life balance is incredible," said American TikToker Chris who now lives in Australia. He said in a TikTok discussing the differences between the US and Australia are his "absolute favorite talking points."

"In the States, I would take four weeks off to take a holiday and people would be like, 'That's amazing,'" he said. "Australians wouldn't bat an eye if they hear this because long holidays is like a thing here. That's just like part of the norm, they understood that's how it should be."