Work/life balance is a goal of most in the developed world. Decades of research has shown an imbalance that tips too much in the direction of work can impact our health and reported levels of life satisfaction.

regulation and flexible arrangements don't get us out the door on time

The OECD's annual Better Life Index looks at 11 different areas that contribute to a good life, including work/life balance. Specifically, it measures hours spent on work, leisure and personal care.

Norway currently tops the Better Life Index overall and comes fifth in work/life balance. Denmark is third overall and second for work/life balance. In 2016, The Netherlands knocked Denmark from its post and came first in the work/life balance category. What are these countries doing right?

For a start, under 2 percent of their workforce put in 50 hours or more per week. Likely as a result, they also have more time for leisure and self-care, significantly over the OECD average. Somewhat unsurprisingly, they also rank high in the top 10 for life satisfaction.

But is this a new development or one that's inherent to their culture? The concept of 'gezellig' (Dutch), 'hygge' (Danish) or 'koselig' (Norwegian) permeates all areas of life in these countries. An untranslatable-to-English word, it covers coziness, a relaxing atmosphere, good company and good living. In The Netherlands it's apparent when you shop but aren't bothered by a pushy sales assistant, when sitting in a cafe with one coffee as long as you like, how things get done but everyone leaves work on time - it's an efficient but laidback approach to work and life in general. But does it spell doom for those of us without a laidback buzz word?

While we don't have a definitive answer, many governments attempt to alleviate the imbalance issue by regulating work hours, overtime and paid leave. At the organization level, companies appease staff with flexible work arrangements, job sharing and other benefits. What tends to happen in reality is unenforced labor laws and arrangements that tend to increase workload by connecting employees to their work twenty-four seven. Returning to Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands, however, we don't find groundbreaking labor laws (standard hours are 37-40 per week) nor excessively generous paid leave in comparison to other OECD countries, unless we're talking about the United States.

The Greens party in Australia recently proposed a discussion on cutting the official work week from five to four days for the sake of balance and increasing part-time work opportunities. The questions such a policy immediately raises are, of course, would it require a pay cut, who can afford one or will the government subsidize the decreased workload?

The line between full-time and part-time work is thin. Often we're either earning a full-time salary for anything up to extremely long work weeks, or it's a part-time wage and restricted hours where one struggles to make ends meet. In many cases, a part-time job is not the only job, which again leads to an imbalance of priorities and time distribution.

The Better Life Index also considers time for leisure and self-care when assessing work/life balance. The average across OECD countries in 2016 was around 15 hours per week or 62.5 percent of each day. The measure includes sleep time. Both Denmark and The Netherlands were above the average at 15.9 hours per week, while Norway reported 15.6. Compared to the United Kingdom (14.9), the United States (14.5), Australia and Canada (both 14.4), the problem may in fact be a life without gezellig? Do workers in countries that top work/life balance just have a culturally ingrained sense of working to live or maybe it's the sufficient safety net their respective state affords them that puts their minds at ease when they walk out the door at five?

For the rest of us, regulation and flexible arrangements don't seem to be enough to get us out the door on time. So what choices do we have if we have become conditioned to overvaluing face time or fear retribution for wanting a personal life? Reshuffle.

Reshuffling our work day is a start, not the answer. Getting up earlier, using the morning to do things you enjoy but are too tired for after work, and starting and finishing work earlier are some quick fixes that add hours to each week.

Take short breaks throughout the day to meditate or take walks with a colleague who takes regular cigarette breaks - to be clear, the smoking colleague is for a break opportunity, not the nicotine. Use up vacation entitlements and watch your productivity spike before and after.

Neglecting our mental and physical health could eventually lead to time off work without pay, serious health problems and a very unsatisfying life. Even if you love your job and have a successful career, time away from work improves clarity, sparks new ideas, improves relationships in other parts of your life and gives you a greater sense of well-being.

A final thought on the 2016 Better Life Index relates to the number of us in OECD countries who are working 50 or more hours per week. The average is actually quite low, at just 13 percent. Compare this number to anecdotal evidence that we're all working far too much and there's a clear disconnect. Are we just tired? Are we lacking quality time and confusing distractions, our obsession with social media or our addiction to streaming and on-demand media with being busy and overworked? If that's the case, the answer may simply be that we need to learn to focus and work efficiently. And a little gezellig couldn't hurt.