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Global Life-Work Balance Index | Best Work-Life Balance Countries

原文節錄

Best Work-Life Balance Countries

Recent statistics show that more than three-quarters of employees have suffered burnout in their current roles, which highlights that — while we’ve come a long way in creating a healthy balance between our personal and professional selves — there’s still work to be done in many parts of the globe.

• burnout：名詞，由burn和out兩個字組成，原意是燃燒殆盡，用來形容人通常是指過勞或身心俱疲的狀態。
• have come a long way ：已經有很大的進展或收穫。
• work to be done：要完成的事，指還有需要努力的地方。

For our Global Life-Work Balance Index, we reviewed the 60 highest GDP nations across the world to see which countries have the best work-life balance, analyzing a series of workplace-related factors such as statutory annual leave, sick pay, maternity leave, healthcare, and overall happiness.

• statutory ：形容詞，法定，例如statutory obligations 法定義務
• annual：形容一年時間間隔，例如 annual leave 一年的休假，也可以形容一年一度，例如 an annual event 年度活動。
• maternity：直接的意思是母親這個身份，也可以指懷孕或產婦，maternity leave就是產假。

Indexes:

1. Statutory annual leave
2. Minimum statutory sick pay percentage
3. Paid maternity leave and payment rate
4. Minimum wage
5. Healthcare system
6. Happiness index
7. Average hours worked per week
8. LGBTQ+ inclusivity

• LGBTQ：Lesbian 女同性戀者、Gay男同性戀者、Bisexual 雙性戀、Transgender 跨性別者以及Queer酷兒。

1. New Zealand

Our index revealed the island nation of New Zealand to be the country with the best life-work balance. Boasting a strong economy, New Zealand ranks at #1 in our list by scoring highly across a number of metrics, offering a generous statutory annual leave allowance (32 days), a high rate of sick pay (80%), and a government-funded universal health care system.

• boast ：動詞，其中一個意思是炫耀或自豪，例如boast about his achievements 炫耀他的成就，在這裡則是「擁有某個值得自豪的東西」的意思，後面加上正面詞彙，例如Taiwan boasts world-famous street foods 台灣擁有全球知名的街頭小吃。
• metrics ：計算標準，在這裡指的就是不同的計分項目。
• allowance ：津貼或補貼，例如 travel allowance 交通津貼，給小孩的零用錢也可以用這個字

1. Spain

While the idea of the traditional Spanish siesta has become something of an international stereotype, the European nation of Spain still knows how to put life before work. Scoring consistently well across the board, the country is particularly generous when it comes to statutory annual leave (36 days). It also has one of the shortest working weeks on average.

• put A before B：字面意思就是把A放在B之前，也就是在排序上A優先。因此put life before work 就是生活比工作重要。
• generous：慷慨、大方，在這裡是指西班牙提供很多法定年假
• When it comes to：提到、談論到某事或某物，例如When it comes to the salary, the employees don’t feel satisfied. 談到薪資，員工不覺得滿意。

1. France

[…]businesses in France have a healthy attitude to life-work balance, with workers enjoying ample free time (the average working week is just 25.6 hours), a generous minimum wage, and 36 days’ statutory annual leave per year.

In 2017, France even introduced the right to disconnect, a law giving its workers the legal right to avoid viewing or responding to emails outside of work hours with a view to reduce workplace-related stress.

• ample ：形容詞，表示充足、很多，例如ample space, ample opportunity
• disconnect 是connect連接的反義詞，也就是斷開連接，當我們要說連上網際網路就會用connect，斷網就是disconnect
• with a view to 也可以寫成with an aim to，用來說明做這件事的目標是什麼，例如with a view to cut down the cost 目標是減少成本

1. Australia 澳洲

Known for its stunning vistas, laid-back culture, and favorable year-round climate (with many states enjoying more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year!), Australia rather unsurprisingly ranks well when it comes to life-work balance, with the country offering the highest minimum annual wage per hour of any nation and sickness paid at 100% of salary.

• vista：景色，同義詞是scenery，例如the soothing vista of river 令人放鬆的河景
• laid-back：複合形容詞，來自 lie back 往後躺，意思是悠閒放鬆、無憂無慮，例如 a laid-back attitude 很放鬆的態度
• rather：副詞，表達程度或是比較，在這裡是用來形容相比其他國家，澳洲的表現不讓人意外。

1. Denmark 丹麥

Work-life balance is a foundation of Danish culture, with workers enjoying more free time than most of their European counterparts. The country’s high taxation rate also contributes to a strong welfare society, as its citizens are provided access to free education and healthcare.

• foundation：基礎或根據，通常是指抽象的事物，例如 lay the foundation of the education system 為教育系統打下基礎、his claim has no foundation 他宣稱的事沒有根據
• counterpart ：對應的人事物，當你想對應不同範圍中同一個事物，就可以用counterpart，例如 Male workers generally have higher chance of getting promotion than their female counterparts. 男性工作者通常比女性工作者更有升遷機會。
• welfare 在中文可以解釋為福祉，包含群體的健康、安全和幸福，social welfare 就是社會福利制度。