Canadians pride themselves on a lot of things: health care, quality maple syrup, delicious poutine on the East Coast and exquisite sushi on the West Coast.
But research from Compare The Market found that when it comes to paid vacation days, Canadian employees ranked 39 out of 43 countries in the industrial world, with only 10 days.
For context, the United States offers zero days of paid annual leave. This is because employees are not legally obligated to any paid vacation dates, according to the federal department of labour.
Although Canada placed higher in the data finding, it is still inferior to European countries like Austria, Finland, France and Spain where employees have 30 days of paid annual leave.
The research also analyzed which countries had the best work-life balance. Luxembourg and Scandinavian countries topped every other nation. Specifically, Luxembourg's annual working hours were one of the lowest, at 1,382 hours.
"In modern culture where many countries work remotely, it can be easy to let your work-life balance stray more to the work side. However, our research shows that living in a country where you have more time to enjoy life moments, from bringing a newborn into the world to having more opportunities to do the things you love, can likely increase your overall happiness," says Anthony Fleming, Compare The Market’s general manager for health insurance.
