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Switching between “island time” and the “Manhattan minute”, travel offers a chance to experience a different pace of life.��

But if you’re after a culture with a healthy attitude to work, you may not have to travel far as New Zealand was ranked the world’s best country for work-life balance.��

The study published by HR resourcing company Remote ranked 60 countries for factors including annual leave, work hours and minimum wage to weigh up the rewards and attitudes towards labour.��

It turns out Aotearoa works hard and plays hard. But, importantly, not too hard.��

“You’ll typically see it written the other way round (as ‘work-life balance’), but we consider this a miscalculation — the attitude should be life first, work second,” says the study’s authors Remote.��

The top-ranked countries may not offer the top earning opportunities, but they do reward workers with opportunities and protections for employees’ own time.��

New Zealand exists in the goldilocks zone where the average pay and general contentedness (measured via the happiness index) were both high.��

“Our index revealed the island nation of New Zealand to be the country with the best life-work balance,” said the survey.��

The study looked at wages, worker satisfaction and the average weekly working hours. Photo / File, Bill Varie��

The appeals of “heart-stopping scenery, rich Māori culture, and always-welcoming locals” made it top of the wish-list for would-be expats. The second highest minimum-wage in the rankings also didn’t hurt.��

The United States, on the other hand, scored poorly with a 29.1-hour work week for a $7.25 minimum wage. It ranked 52 out of 60 countries, just ahead of Iran.��

Despite a relatively high happiness index of 6.98, the US was marked down for poor workers’ rights. Sick leave and paid maternity were also hard to get for workers in America.��

Europe led the league of “bon vivant” - with six of the top 10 being from there. Australia also made an appearance, especially due to its relatively high minimum wage.��

Switzerland boasted generous sick leave and one of the highest happiness ranking (7.51) in Europe but the blistering 31.6-hour work week dragged it down to 34th place.��

Malaysia and Nigeria were not the places to relocate to for long lunch breaks and a breezy work culture. With average working weeks of over 40 hours, these countries were identified as the hardest working though for a low minimum wage.��

Whether you’re after��la pura vida, or��la vida loca��- look no further than Remote’s ranking of countries with the best work-life balance.��