Work-Life Balance: Is the American Model Getting a Bad Reputation?

Work-life balance in America is not viewed as balanced — and the word is getting out.

Workers in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain who observe the impact of U.S. workplace policies are concerned that those practices are encroaching on their own work environments, according to a report by Zety, a career-builder website.

Here’s what surveyed workers in Europe had to say:

86% believe U.S. corporate culture is influencing European employers more than in previous years.
78% believe U.S. corporate practices are a threat to strong labor laws, work-life balance and holiday time off — and 68% favor stronger labor protections in response.
76% felt that implementing the “always-on” U.S. work culture would be detrimental to their mental health.
34% are concerned about workplace surveillance and productivity tracking — and the same percentage would immediately search for a new job if their workplace followed America’s lead on return-to-office (RTO) mandates, longer working hours, fewer holidays or regular accountability reports.

Access a bonus Workspan Daily Plus+ article on this subject:

From Misconception to Motivation: Creating Your Unlimited PTO Policy

“We have people across the pond who are seeing what’s happening here in corporate America and the work world, seeing how employees are being treated, and essentially saying, ‘If I had to work in that way, or if I had that surveillance, I’d quit my job. I wouldn’t work for that company,’” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at Zety. “That is incredibly alarming. The data is showing that the European workforce, if they had to work like us, they just wouldn’t tolerate it.”

“The first thing that pops into my head when I hear about work-life balance is, ‘What work-life balance?’ We are in a burnout epidemic. This is a systemic issue.”
— Jasmine Escalera, career expert, Zety

‘What Work-Life Balance?’

Escalera stated that several factors are feeding into the always-on workplace culture in the U.S.:

Worker concerns about a potential recession.
Backpedaling on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Unease about the current job market — for instance, hearing an acquaintance talk about unsuccessfully applying for dozens or hundreds of jobs.

When weighing the need to pay rent and put food on the table with the financial concerns most workers are experiencing today, Escalera said those external elements can intensify employees’ sense that they must push themselves harder than ever to avoid jeopardizing the jobs they have.

What’s more, the messaging coming from much of corporate America today is less about caring for employees’ well-being and more about arbitrarily defining and tracking productivity, Escalera added.

“The first thing that pops into my head when I hear about work-life balance is, ‘What work-life balance?’” she said. “We are in a burnout epidemic. This is a systemic issue. We have an ingrained hustle and mentality culture in the workplace.”

Escalera posited that this culture is becoming so embedded in the U.S. that efforts to combat burnout and stress, and improve work-life balance, often stall before they make it out of the gate.

America ranks 29th out of 41 countries on several measures of work-life balance, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Better Life Index. Contributing factors include long work hours, the lack of a national paid parental leave policy and return-to-work challenges for new mothers.

The long and short of it is that, according to an October 2024 Kickresume survey. Significantly more Americans work between 41 and 50 hours a week (40%, compared to 26% in Europe).

And when it comes to taking time off, Kickresume found:

Americans do that less. Twenty-six percent of Americans said they took five or fewer vacation days the prior year, compared to 9% of Europeans. Conversely, almost 30% of Europeans took more than 25 vacation days, while only 6% of Americans could say the same.
Americans were much more likely to feel guilty about taking time off. More than 33% of Americans admitted to often feeling guilty about taking time off, compared to 18% of Europeans.

Americans also frequently work while on vacation, according to similar research from learning platform ELVTR.

The result? U.S. workers in the Kickresume study reported higher stress, while Europeans were more likely to say they’re happy with their work-life balance.

Total Rewards Can Move the Dial

Employees worldwide are sending a clear message that they want this culture to change. For the first time in 22 years, work-life balance superseded pay as a top incentive for employees surveyed in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, according to research from Randstad, a recruitment and staffing agency.

Indeed, U.S. work-life balance is hanging by a thread, according to various studies:

66% of Americans say they don’t have work-life balance, even though 94% believe it’s important.
73% list that balance as a key consideration when searching for a job.
61% are unwilling to accept a role that doesn’t allow them to adequately separate their work and personal lives.

This offers an opportunity for the total rewards function to step up. First, Escalera said, examine your own organization on a micro level to determine if these U.S. and worldwide trends related to work-life balance and burnout are mirrored among your workforce. Then, take a fresh look at the rewards you offer and consider boosting them or adding offerings to ensure they holistically cover the needs of your individual workforce. This may include:

More paid time off — including unlimited PTO policies, if they’re well-implemented.
Remote, hybrid or flexible work options.
Revised compensation or bonus structures.
Mental health benefits — paid days off, services covered under your health plan, and access to mental health professionals.
Professional development opportunities.
Bringing in career coaches or other professionals to train workers and leaders on the signs of burnout and stress.
Educating employees on effectively bringing up their concerns about their workload or burnout — and training managers and leaders on how to respond.

Preserving Time Away from the Office

Work-life balance is inextricably entangled with the amount of time spent at work — and, by extension, the amount of time workers have away from it.

“Evidence suggests long work hours may impair personal health, jeopardize safety and increase stress,” stated the OECD. “The more people work, the less time they have to spend on other activities, such as time with others, leisure activities, eating or sleeping. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people’s overall well-being, and can bring additional physical and mental health benefits.”

Strengthening work-life balance likely involves addressing both the hours employees work from week to week and their access to various forms of paid time off — both of which need work:

77% of employees are asked to take on additional work beyond their job description at least weekly, with 93% of them experiencing burnout from taking on extra work, according to LiveCareer, a resume builder website.
Workers at smaller organizations tend to get less time off — for instance, at employers with fewer than 50 workers, 72% of workers have access to sick leave, compared to 90% of those at businesses employing more than 500 people, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Wage level impacts PTO as well. BLS stats show that among the bottom 10% of wage earners, only 40% have access to sick leave, compared to 96% of workers in the top 10% pay bracket. Interestingly, the highest wage earners do not always have the most access to several types of leave — workers in the third 25% wage category (50% to 75% of the top wages) edged out those making more than them in access to vacation time and holidays.

Disparities in access to time off aren’t conducive to comprehensive work-life balance, said Escalera, who urged organizations to offer uniform workweeks and equitable access to paid time off for employees at all levels.

And, she stressed, just having good PTO policies isn’t enough; you also need to create an environment that encourages workers to take their time off and doesn’t make them feel they’ll be penalized for doing so.

The ROI of Work-Life Balance

The consequences of low work-life balance are well-documented. It can lead to poor sleep quality, increased stress and overall worsened health, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Zety also found that experiencing the “Sunday Scaries” leading into the workweek causes physical symptoms such as insomnia and headaches for 73% of polled employees, with 20% saying they’ve called out sick on a Monday due to work-related anxiety.

“We should challenge a culture that equates long hours with innovation and burnout with brilliance,” stated Domonique Townsend, the CEO at We Optimize Work, in a LinkedIn article. “History shows us that the most sustainable innovation doesn’t come from exhausted minds, it comes from energized, supported and respected people.”

Why should employers and total rewards professionals want to turn the tide on work-life balance? Escalera likened success in this area to an equal energy exchange. When employees feel supported and are happy with their work-life balance, they don’t just want to repay those efforts with solid work performance and loyalty — they’re actually more capable of doing so.

“The return on caring about people is 100-fold,” Escalera said. “If you don’t meet employees where they need to be met and just continue to propagate feelings of stress, burnout and exhaustion, then productivity, innovation and creativity will all be damaged — the things that are most important in moving your company forward.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics: