A Comparative Study of the Work-life Balance in Japan and Sweden

This study compares opinions on and the current status of the work-life balance （WLB） in Japan and Sweden and it examines the influence of gender， age and occupation as well as QOL， self-esteem， and interpersonal trust. The most frequent opinion on the WLB in Japan is “an equal emphasis” on work and life， followed by “an emphasis on life，” but under current conditions people frequently put “an emphasis on work.” This indicates a large divergence between opinions and reality. In contrast， the Swedish put “an emphasis on life” based on both opinions and current conditions， indicating a congruence between opinions and current conditions. In both countries， the young is the group that emphasizes life most， and older people tend to put “an emphasis on work.” This suggests that age group has a considerable influence on one’s WLB. Japanese respondents diverged by gender. Males shifted from “an emphasis on work” to “an emphasis on life” while females shifted from“an emphasis on life” to “an equal emphasis.” Sweden is a highly egalitarian society， and gender differences in the WLB were not found. Both Japanese and Swedish teachers held opinions on the WLB that emphasized life more than welfare personnel did， though the difference was not significant. In contrast， welfare personnel currently emphasized life more than teachers， and the difference was significant. This suggests that teachers are inclined to improving their WLB. There was a significant correlation between opinions on and the current status of the WLB in both countries， but not between QOL， self-esteem， or interpersonal trust. In Japan， a high QOL is related to “an equal emphasis” on work and life while a low QOL is related to “an emphasis on work.” Low levels of self-esteem and interpersonal trust are related to “an emphasis on life.” This result might be explained by the fact that students tend to emphasize life， resulting in low scores for these psychological measures.