A reach carried out by William Russell, an expat insurance company, found that the USA is at the top of the list of highest paying countries in terms of employee remuneration.
Workers in the US take home an average salary of $75,738 with Denmark in second place ($62,054). Other countries in the top 5 include the Netherlands ($61,734), Belgium ($59,601) and Austriw ($58,139).
However, while the US thumps Europe in terms of income, European countries offer a better work-life balance for employees include superior benefits like paid leave, international health insurance and several public holidays. This effectively boosts happiness and job satisfaction.
This could explain why European countries like Denmark and Finland topped the 2022 World Happiness Ranking.
“Denmark combines average high salaries with low working hours, well-protected workers’ rights, and a minimum of 25 days of annual leave,” the William Russell report found.
Finland, first in the World Happiness Report, was second in William Russell’s with a score of 7.46.
“Finland also performs well across most factors, with a particularly high score on the Labour Rights Index, indicating that Finland really is a country that cares about the average worker,” the report said.
The Labour Rights Index is a compilation and comparison of legal data from 115 countries that William Russell believes gives a good picture of legal protections given to workers worldwide.
Norway, which came in eighth on the list of the happiest countries in the world, was third in the William Russell report with a 6.99 work and employment score.
“While Norway performs relatively well across our metrics, slightly lower scores on the Labour Rights Index, minimum wage, and public holidays prevent the country from placing higher,” the report said.
