I lived in Sweden for 5 years. Here are 5 things Americans get wrong about work-life balance.

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Stockholm SwedenOleksiy Mark/Shutterstock

In 2013, I moved from New York City to Gothenburg, Sweden, to live with my husband.

I lived in Sweden for five years, and looking back, it’s clear to me that Sweden differs from the United States in many realms of life and work.

In Sweden, people cherish their time outside when the weather is nice — even more than people in the US. And companies in Sweden seem to have less hierarchy than workplaces in the US.

Related: I’m an American who lived in Sweden for 5 years — here are the biggest cultural differences between the 2 countries

But after spending five years in Sweden, I noticed some of the most pronounced differences between Sweden and America had to do with work-life balance. From Sweden’s generous parental leave policies to the five weeks of paid vacation it gives workers, there’s a lot the US could learn from the European country.

Read on to see five areas where Sweden blows the US out of the water when it comes to work-life balance.

Sweden mandates generous parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender

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Having a baby can be an exciting yet scary time for parents. In the US, many parents do not have the luxury of taking substantial time off, if any, to bond with their new baby or take care of themselves. There is no law in the US that mandates employers to offer paid parental leave. 

In Sweden, not only do new mothers get time off, but the partner also has the right to 10 days off work within 60 days of the baby coming home in order to support the mother and get to know the newborn baby. Apart from getting 10 days off work, parents will get about 80% of their salary during those days. These same rules apply to families who adopt.

Furthermore, parents in Sweden have the right to a combined 480 days off. Out of those 480 days, 390 of them are based on your salary before the baby is born, and for the remaining 90 days, you get around $20 per day. During the 390 days, you’ll get about 80% of your salary, but with a maximum of around $100 per day. You can distribute the 480 days as you wish between the parents, but 90 days are earmarked for each parent. In order to use all the days, the parent not giving birth must take 90 days off to take care of the child. 

Sweden’s parental leave laws are also now changing to be more inclusive of non-heteronormative and "traditionally-structured" families with a cisgender man and woman at the head of the household. Older laws accounted for same-sex couples and couples introducing a step-parent by allowing the parent who gave birth to take parental leave until the adoption process was finalized for the other parent. 

Under new laws, it will now be possible for the partner who gave birth to transfer some parental leave days to the partner who did not before any adoption process is complete.

Everyone gets a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation

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From time to time, everyone needs to be able to recharge their batteries and have time off from work. Multiple studies have shown that taking vacation improves productivity, lowers stress, and is beneficial to one’s mental health.

Many employees throughout the US have paid vacation, but most people have nowhere near five weeks of vacation. 

In Sweden, you are guaranteed five weeks, or 25 working days, of vacation. There is something called Semesterlagen, or "vacation law," in Sweden that governs vacation policies. Semesterlagen not only gives employees the right to five weeks of paid vacation time, but also the right to take four of those weeks consecutively during the months of June, July, and August.

Sweden doesn’t penalize you for getting sick for long periods of time

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No one likes getting sick, and no one likes sick people coming into the office.

Companies throughout the US have varying policies regarding paid sick leave, and often, American workers feel compelled to work through their ailments.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, everyone has paid sick days. However, a new 2019 rule says Swedish workers who take sick days will see a deduction of 20% of their salary for an average work week. For longer periods of sickness, in the US, you might run through your allotment of sick days and be forced to dip into your vacation time. But in Sweden, regardless of the length of your sickness, you will still only get that initial 20% deduction for the first day. 

And Swedish employees can take seven consecutive sick days before they need to provide a doctor’s notice to prove they are actually sick.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: I’m an American who lived in Sweden for 5 years — here are the biggest cultural differences between the 2 countries

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Ariel Kramer)

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