In a new study of 24 countries, the UK public are least likely to say work is important in their life and among the least likely to say work should always come first, even if it means less leisure time.

The study, part of the World Values Survey (WVS) by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, showed 73% of the UK public say work is very or rather important in their life, the lowest of 24 countries, though on a par with Russia (74%) and Canada (75%).

Other western nations such as Italy, Spain, Sweden, France and Norway all rank much higher than the UK on this measure, with more than nine in 10 saying work is important in their life. The Philippines and Indonesia (99% each) ranked at the top.

The survey highlighted that the UK’s results are not a new development. As in several other high-income western nations, the proportion of UK workers who say work is very or rather important in their life has changed little since 1990. Back then, 76% felt this way, compared with 73% in 2022.

According to the study, 22% of the UK public agree work should always come first, even if it means less spare time, with only Australia (21%), Canada (19%) and Japan (10%) less likely to hold this view.

Within the UK, there is a notable gender difference in responses, with men (28%) more likely than women (16%) to say work should always take priority. In some comparable countries, such as Spain (45%) and France (39%), the public are around twice as likely as those in the UK to say work should come first, while Italy (55%) and Norway (56%) are even more likely to.

Meanwhile, Egypt (92%), Nigeria (83%) and China (82%) come top for this view, in line with other findings on the perceived importance of work in those countries.

Between 1999 and 2022, the proportion of the UK public who agreed work should always come first, even if it means less spare time, declined only slightly, from 26% to 22%, although agreement rose as a high as 35% in 2009.

Less than half of people in the UK (43%) say it would be a good thing if less importance were placed on work, virtually the same as Spain (45%), Germany (45%) and Indonesia (45%), where slightly greater proportions agree with this view, but far behind the Philippines (61%), which comes top on this measure.

At the other end of the table, just 6% of people in Egypt think it would be a positive development if work was seen as less important, while Norway (21%) ranks bottom among western nations for this view.

The majority (93%) of the UK public say leisure time is very or rather important in their life, only slightly lower than Sweden and Norway, which come top on this measure, with 96% feeling this way. The UK is not alone in valuing leisure time a great deal. In the majority of countries, around nine in 10 people say it is important for them, and there is little difference in views.

The survey also showed 40% of the UK public agree those who don’t work turn lazy, with Sweden (32%) the only nation where people are less likely to agree.

At the same time, the UK ranked relatively low for the belief that hard work usually brings a better life. Overall, 39% of people in the UK lean towards the view that, in the long run, hard work usually brings a better life, notably below the US, where a majority of 55% hold this opinion, but above Germany, where 28% feel this way.

Other countries, such as the US, are notably more likely than the UK to think hard work leads to a better life, with the UK public more inclined to think luck and connections are equally important.

Bobby Duffy, the director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London and principal investigator in the study, told The Guardian that although there were specific dynamics in the UK in terms of inequality, the data also suggested there was a ‘long-term shift in preferences for work-life balance across a wide range of richer countries’.

Duffy added that the findings reflected a growing sense that the social contract is broken. “It’s definitely true that the UK is not in a good place compared with other countries on both average income levels and inequality in income.

“Both are likely important in perceptions of whether work is worth it. When absolute incomes are stuck and people feel the dice is loaded against them while others get ahead, even if they work hard, then the motivation to work is going to be affected,” Duffy said.