More than half of the Germans asked felt they did not have enough time in 2011 for themselves or to spend with their friends and family, and had failed to develop a satisfactory balance between their working and private lives.
Office providers Regus surveyed 16,000 workers – their answers put Germany at 15th place for work-life balance, behind countries such as China, Brazil and Mexico which were all jostling for the top spot.
But over the border in the Netherlands people were even happier with their lot, with over two thirds of people saying they thought they had the balance just right.
It was not all bad for Germany though – the survey showed a 65 percent increase in people who said they were happy with their work–life balance since 2010. And, since 2009 the amount of Germans who said they had fun at work also went up by nearly 65 percent.
Regus also found that happiness levels were regional within Germany.
Employees in Hamburg and Bavaria were notably much more content with the amount of free time, and how they were spending it, than their counterparts in Baden-Württemberg.
“Employers who want to hang on to their top talent should realise how important having a balance between work and private life is,” said Regus manager Michael Barth.
DPA/The Local/jcw
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