British expats have shared why they left the UK in favour of a shorter working week and better work-life balance in the Netherlands – and why they have no plans to return.
As the UK continues to debate the practicality of a four-day working week, many Brits living abroad say the Dutch system already offers the flexibility, trust, and quality of life they were looking for.
Businesses across the Netherlands have introduced flexible and reduced working hours in recent years in their efforts to battle burnout, with many workers benefiting from shorter schedules and a greater emphasis on personal time.
Hannah, whose name has been changed, is a project manager for a fashion company and has lived in the Netherlands for over 15 years.
Speaking to The i, the mother says the Dutch working culture is a key reason she has chosen to stay.
She said: ‘We all work hard, we meet our targets, and there’s a culture of freedom and trust in the workplace that pays off. I don’t know anyone who’s lazy or taking the mickey. You treat people like grown-ups, and you get grown-ups.’
The expat also highlighted the country’s strict boundaries between work and personal life, adding that ‘every minute is optimised’ in the UK, while employees in Holland who are scheduled to work until 5pm actually leave their workplace on time.
Ravi, another British expat who moved to Amsterdam nearly a decade ago, said the lifestyle was the main draw.
British expats have shared why they left the UK in favour of a shorter working week and better work-life balance in the Netherlands – and why they have no plans to return
Hannah, whose name has been changed, is a project manager for a fashion company and has lived in the Netherlands for over 15 years (stock image)
He explained that his family gets back ‘around ten hours a week’ to spend together, and that people ‘work to live’ in Holland – not the other way round.
He added: ‘That certainly doesn’t mean people don’t take work seriously – in fact they take it more seriously, because they know how important their family time is and they know it’s all about balance.’
Jennie Mono, originally from Scotland, moved to Amsterdam in 2007 for a job promotion and has remained ever since.
Speaking to DutchNews, she said she ‘loves’ her new life, but admitted she plans to remain until retirement due to having ‘poor’ language skills.
She said: ‘I can’t imagine that I’ll retire in the Netherlands because I can’t imagine being in an old-folks home speaking poor Dutch. So I’ll probably go back to the UK eventually, but not for some time yet.’
Meanwhile, a woman has revealed an ‘adorable’ rule in a supermarket in the Netherlands – but some tourists admitted they’d be ‘too scared to ask’.
Somi Lynda goes by @driplist on Instagram and shares her life in Amsterdam on social media.
Recently, the content creator revealed a ‘very unique rule’ that’s followed in a Dutch supermarket.
Ravi, another British expat who moved to Amsterdam nearly a decade ago, said the lifestyle was the main draw (stock image)
She uploaded a video showing herself shopping, and explained how customers who are fourth in the queue are able to receive their groceries for free.
In the video, Somi penned text over the footage and wrote: ‘If you’re the 4th customer in line at the checkout you’ll get all your groceries for FREE!’
The camera panned to show a sign above the checkouts that appeared to outline the rule in Dutch.
‘But only if there was no shorter line and all the desks are not open,’ the video continued.