Stockholm: One of the best cities for work-life balance
Publish date: 3 February 2025
Stockholm’s reputation for excellent work-life balance isn’t a clever marketing ploy – it’s a genuine achievement decades in the making. Rooted in the city’s cultural values and progressive social policies, this balance isn’t just a concept but a way of life.
Born and raised in Southern California, Rikki Thornton moved to Stockholm in 2010 to pursue a degree at Uppsala University. “I thought it would be my last chance to experience ‘freedom’ before I started working,” she says. “I saw how life was for people in the US, and I wanted to make sure I was able to see and do things before I was ‘locked’ into my job.”
Rikki soon noticed that working life in Sweden vastly differed from what she had always believed lay in store. Now based in Stockholm as Head of Marketing at Svea Bank, she never fails to appreciate how good workers have it in the city.
“My mom is a nurse in the US and only gets 10 days of vacation a year. My friends back home talk about paid time off in hours, not days,” she explains. “My cousin, who’s pregnant, is trying to calculate how many vacation and sick hours she can cobble together for maternity leave. It’s exhausting.”
Finding professional freedom
In contrast to American law, Swedish law guarantees at least 25 days of paid vacation annually, with many Swedes taking several consecutive weeks off during the summer. And once that out-of-office email is on, people take it seriously. “When I’m done with work, I shut everything off. I don’t have to be “on” or expected to answer emails or messages outside of working hours,” says Rikki.
Like many Stockholmers, this time away from work is often spent in nature. Despite being a busy metropolitan capital, there’s no lack of lush outdoor spaces – even in the city center. “When I told a friend in the US I went for a walk, they asked, ‘Why walk when you can drive?’ Here, it’s normal to go outside just to enjoy nature. It’s not about efficiency – it’s about well-being.”
With the freedom she once believed professional life would deny her, Rikki feels more energized and focused during the workday. “Energy at work comes from a lot of factors, of course, but feeling like I have control over my time and my work is a big one.”
A different perspective on balance
For Martin Bundock, an entrepreneur originally from London, work-life balance takes on a different meaning. Twenty-three years after moving to Stockholm, he’s not once regretted his decision to move to what he calls this “small big city”.
As the founder of communications agency A World Beneath (AWB), Martin doesn’t benefit from the same perks as employees of Swedish companies – though his team does, of course. Still, he values some of the lesser-shouted-about advantages of living in Stockholm.
“The commute in London was killing me. Stockholm had this small city vibe but still felt international. Prices are a little different now but, back then, I could afford to buy an apartment in the center of town and walk to work in five minutes. It’s also a very safe city, compared to where I come from, so you lose a lot of that stress.”
In addition to his apartment, Martin has been able to purchase a country house in Mariefred, about an hour’s drive from central Stockholm. It’s a lifestyle upgrade he admits “would never have happened in the UK unless we had loads of spare cash.”
Whether relaxing at his country house or enjoying nature close to the city, Martin feels that Stockholm offers a unique lifestyle where one can pursue a career without sacrificing well-being.
Making everyday family life easier
Now living in Hammarbyhöjden, a suburb in the south of Stockholm, Martin can still reach the office in just 15 minutes – with the option to walk, bike, run, or take the metro. This proximity to the center shaves hours of commuting time off his day, allowing him to put in a full day’s work and still enjoy evenings with his wife and three children.
Spending more time with his family is not all that Martin appreciates about raising kids in the city. Childcare in Stockholm is enviably affordable, giving parents the option to place their children in daycare from the age of 12 months for just 1688 SEK (154 USD) monthly. Though Martin’s children are now older, the system still provides – after-school clubs (fritids) capped at 1125 SEK (102 USD) per month.
“My wife and I can get a full day of work in because we drop the kids at 7:30 am with some fantastic teachers who really take care and activate the children, and pick them up when we’re done at 5 pm. That’s what I call work-life balance.”
With these unique benefits, both Rikki and Martin agree that Stockholm offers an extremely attractive quality of life. Combined, says Rikki, these perks “allow you to do the things you want to do, enjoy the things that bring you happiness, and reconnect with who you are, rather than just being a worker bee.”