A fifth, or 20%, of Europeans are not satisfied with the balance between their work and personal life, according to a study from the European Commission.

The Eurobarometer study also found that 78% of Europeans say that they are very or fairly satisfied with their work-life balance, but 28% say they are very satisfied.

Across the EU, women said they are slightly less satisfied with their work-life balance than men are.

The Commission’s report found that 25% of Europeans say that it is not easy for employees in their workplace to take family leave and 27% of those surveyed agree that employees are discouraged from taking family leave by managers and supervisors.

Meanwhile, nearly three quarters, or 74%, of Europeans who are not currently in work agree that flexible work arrangements would give them a better chance of entering paid work, and 63% of those who are in work would decide to continue to work instead of taking extended leave or retirement.

Six in ten of those surveyed say that they have access to flexible work arrangements in their current job or had access to such arrangements when they were previously employed. However, less than four in ten (39%) use or have used these arrangements, while just over a fifth (21%) have not made use of them despite flexible working arrangements were available. Just over a third (35%) do not have access to flexible work arrangements.

Broken down by country, the Eurobarometer showed that among those who are ‘very satisfied’ with their work-life balance, Denmark led the way with 47%. This was followed by Austria at 44%. Respondents in Latvia had the lowest figure at 15%.