Expat loves Australia for its ‘work-life balance’

An American expat has revealed why you couldn’t pay her a million dollars to move back to the US.

An American expat has revealed why you couldn’t pay her a million dollars to move back to the US.

Brooke Alison, a marketing and content creator in the fitness industry, moved to Australia from the US earlier this year.

She had previously lived and worked in South Korea and Chile and said out of the three countries, Australia has the “perfect work-life balance”, adding Aussies are “hard working”, but “know when to draw the line”.

US expat Brooke Alison has praised Australia for having a good ‘work-life balance’. Picture: TikTok/brooke.alison.laven

“OK let’s talk about Australian work ethic,” she said in a now viral TikTok.

“I have a Thai roommate and asked him the other day what he thought about Australia. He said, ‘Oh man, they work so hard’.”

“Then I was having a conversation with my British co-workers who were like, ‘the work here has been so easy compared to London’.

Brooke didn’t elaborate on whether her colleagues were referring and comparing to their specific line of work — or hours worked.

“I worked in South Korea for four years, I worked out of Chile for a year and a half and I’ve obviously worked in the US where I’m from,” Brooke said, adding in Australia there’s a “perfect work-life balance”.

“And that’s why I love living here.”

She said Aussies are ‘hard working’ but ‘know when to draw the line’. Picture: TikTok/brooke.alison.laven

She pulled up a report that analysed the productivity of Australian workers compared to those in the US – and was shocked by the result. Picture: TikTok/brooke.alison.laven

Brooke did her own research and found an online report on Treasury which analysed the productivity of Australian workers compared to those in the US.

According to the report, Aussies are “20 per cent less productive than Americans”, which has risen from 75 to 80 per cent since the mid-80s.

“This is comparing hours worked versus GDP (gross domestic product),” Brooke said.

The document explains, “If Australian workers were as productive as their peers in the US in terms of output per hour, then hours worked per capita would determine GDP per capita relative to the US.

“Similarly, if Australian and US workers worked similar hours, then relative labour productivity would determine relative incomes.”

Brooke’s clip generated plenty of discussion, with some Aussies pointing out that in Australia annual leave is four weeks for full-time workers, while in the US it’s only 13 days, adding it would impact the results of the report.

“We have a pretty strong Union presence in Australia compared to the US. We work to live, not live to work,” one person wrote.

Another said: “It depends. I work corporate and it’s 12 hours a day every day. Plus weekends, which I don’t get paid for.”

Meanwhile, a study conducted by global employment experts Remote revealed Australia as a top five destination for life-work balance, outperforming the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

New Zealand took the top spot, with workers there and in Australia being the most generously paid out of the top five, according to the study.

It revealed Australia entered the top five for offering “the highest minimum annual wage per hour of any nation”.

“The country offers the highest minimum annual wage per hour of any nation, and sick leave is paid at 100 per cent of your salary,” it noted.

The minimum wage in Australia is $23.23 per hour or $882.80 per 38 hour week (before tax), according to the Fairwork Ombudsman.

It’s compared to $CAD16.65 per hour (in Canada) — $A18.80, while in the US federal minimum is $US7.25 per hour — about $A10.90.

Europe lead the way in the study when it comes to life-work balance, with European nations making up 6 of the top 10 countries in Remote’s study.

The United States is ranked a lowly 53rd in the index owing to a lack of statutory annual leave or sick pay, and the absence of a universal healthcare system.

Remote’s Global Life-Work Balance Index assesses the quality of life-work balance across the world’s top 60 GDP countries, ranking each nation out of 100.

The overall score is determined through factors including minimum wage, sick leave, maternity leave, healthcare availability, public happiness, average working hours, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

“Everyone should be able to enjoy both personal fulfilment and professional success, no matter where they live,” Job van der Voort, co-founder and CEO of Remote said.

“The top countries on our global life-work balance list are leading the way for a brighter future of work by embracing this philosophy and offering the infrastructure to support it.”