Work engagement and work life-balance across European union countries

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the link between WE and WLB at the country level in European countries. Design/methodology/approach: The current paper uses data from several sources. The theoretical part of the paper is based on the literature review. The empirical part is based on the data collected through secondary data analysis. The secondary data were mainly collected through related research articles, reports and websites. Findings: The main finding of the research is that there are differences between EU countries in terms of both levels of work engagement and work-life balance. European employees are the most satisfied with the level of work-life balance and at the same time they are the least engaged compared to other regions of the world. One explanation for the low level of engagement with a high level of work-life balance indicator is the inadequate leadership in European companies. Research limitations/implications: The current paper is limited in that it only discusses the link between the levels of WE and WLB across EU countries without explaining the reasons for the relationship. Therefore, further research is needed to identify the factors that shape this mutual relation. Practical implications: The article is interesting from the practical point of view, as low employee engagement is a significant challenge, with one in five workers worldwide planning to quit their jobs. The situation appears to be even worse in Europe, where one in three workers are considering leaving their company. For this reason it is crucial to analyze the reasons of low engagement. Social implications: The paper refers to very important social issue of employees’ well-being. It helps in better understanding the meaning of work-life balance for work engagement. It might affect the quality of life by promoting more balanced work-environment and the idea of corporate social responsibility. Originality/value: Currently, studies are limited and often examine WE and WLB separately. So the novelty of the article is that the author discusses the link between WE and WLB. Additionally the article presents cross-national studies on relationship between WE and WLB. The results presented in the article can be important for the scientific discussion on the cross country differences in WE and WLB.