Turkey ranks 32nd in the 2016 edition of the Better Life Index released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which consists of 34 countries, with a point of 3.9 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Listed only above Mexico and South Africa, Turkey scored lowest under the categories “Work-Life Balance” and “Income”. The highest point given to Turkey was 6.8, under “safety.”
The OECD report said “In terms of employment, 50% of people aged 15 to 64 in Turkey have a paid job, less than the OECD employment average of 66%, and one of the lowest figures in the OECD. Some 70% of men are in paid work, compared with 30% of women. In Turkey, around 39% of employees work very long hours, the highest rate in the OECD where the average is 13%. About 43% of men work very long hours compared with 31% of women.”
It was also noted “In Turkey, workers face an expected 9.1% loss of earnings if they become unemployed, higher than the OECD average of 6.3%.”
According to the report, “The share of employees working 50 hours or more per week is not very large across OECD countries. In Turkey, however, some 39% of employees work very long hours, by far the highest rate in the OECD where the average is 13%.”
Norway led the OECD index with 8 points, followed by Australia and Denmark, both of which received 7.9 points.
The OECD updates the Better Life Index every year based on measures such as housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.