Waking up daily for work is a task that needs a lot of motivation. Most people complain about work becoming monotonous and losing interest after a period of time. On an average, most workforce around the world spends eight hours at offices, however, that's not the case everywhere. While work and workplace can get boring, some countries have laws not that only keeps their people motivated but also promises a work-life balance.

At times when increased work hours and high-demanding jobs are pushing people on the verge of depression, a lot of companies around the world are adopting ways to keep their staff happy. However, in our country that is not the case. A 2013 survey by global travel agency Expedia Inc. said that India has the second highest number of overworked people working 42 hours a week. According to the survey, India is the 10th most vacation-deprived country. A country of 1.3 billion people with 65 percent below the age of 35 live vacation-deprived and stressful work life.

While reduced work hours is directly proportional to the country's wealth and not every nation can adopt it, there are other laws and rules that can equally make work exciting and promise productivity. We at Latestly, have combined some of the best work laws from around the world, here are they:

1.Austria

Has it been six months or more than your last holiday? Then you are surely going to envy the people of Austria because they have an annual paid vacation of 30 working days! Saturdays are considered working under this policy. People who have been employed for less than 25 years can avail this facility. Those above this facility gets annual paid leave of 36 days.

2. Japan

While this is not a law, a Japanese company grants their non-smokers an additional six days of paid holiday a year. The company came up with the policy after their non-smoker employees complained that they worked more compared to their smoker colleagues who regularly took smoke breaks.

3. Iceland

Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men for the same job. While discrimination based on gender is illegal in many countries, Iceland is the first country to take a step further and fight against the gender gap. Companies with at least 25 full-time employees or more have to implement this law.

4. Belgium

As an employee, you are entitled to take one year's career break in Belgium. An employee will be paid full wages and their jobs are a guarantee when they return. It is up to the employee how they want to spend their 'career break'. They can also choose to not use it all in one go.

5. Netherlands

Netherlands' average work hours was 30.1 hours in 2014. It is said that the Netherlands is home to the shortest work week in the world. Many European countries benefit from less strict working hours. The country is said to be among the nations that have good work-life balance.

6. Sweden

Employees in Sweden can opt for 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born. During the leave period, they receive 80 percent of their normal salary up to 390 days. In the country, those who are not in employment are also entitled to paid parental leave. The leaves can be taken up until a child turns eight. As the leave entitlement applies to each child, parents can accumulate leave from several children. Other than the 480 days leave policy, parents in Sweden can also reduce their normal working hours by up to 25 percent until the child turns eight. However, they get paid only for the time they work.

7. Australia

Australia has 'Flexitime' where employees who work overtime can exchange it for an equivalent amount of time off. The Australian Federal Public Service implemented it formally.

In September 2017, Europe's highest court known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently passed a ruling stating that the time taken by workers to travel to and from work would be considered under their working hours. The ruling was passed after it was observed that employees spend a lot of time traveling to and return from work.

Recently, some Sweden employers keeping in mind the increased risks of sitting at a place for long hours have introduced 'Exercise at work'. Employers across the country are trying their best to keep their employees happy which in return increases productivity. With these work practices helping keep their people happy, we hope our government takes a cue from it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2018 05:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).