scorecard
  1. Home
  2. strategy
  3. I lived in Sweden for 5 years. Here are 5 things Americans get wrong about work-life balance.

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

Ariel Kramer   

I lived in Sweden for 5 years. Here are 5 things Americans get wrong about work-life balance.
Strategy1 min read

Stockholm Sweden

Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock

Stockholm, Sweden.

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.

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement