Woman reveals the best country to land a ‘lazy girl job’ where you can take 72 weeks of paid leave

Work-life balance is key to a healthy lifestyle and psychological well-being. While the United States is an undeniable powerhouse, the country lags behind several European countries in providing social protections and paid leave policies. Germany stands out for its employee-friendly policies and generous leave mandates. The country’s policies amused TikToker Gabrielle Judge (@gabrielle_judge) aka Anti Work Girl Boss, who shares content on lazy girl jobs.

Here's where to land the next lazy girl job

In the video, Judge declares that people need to move to Germany. Reading from a screen, Judge says Germany’s sick leave policy is off the charts. She says that employees in Germany can take up to 72 weeks of paid leave if they feel burned out. She further reads that the policy is to help people recover from stress and reduce absenteeism. It also helps employers reduce healthcare costs and boost the motivation of workers, Judge says.

Judge then Googles how many months is 72 weeks and it turns out to be 16-and-a-half months. This makes her wonder about the country’s paid maternal leave policy. She then Googles that as well and finds out that parents can take up to 3 years of leave per child. “I’ve decided, I am moving to Germany,” Judge adds. She then goes on to talk about the importance of work-life balance and how other countries are setting an example. “Our nation has decided it’s not important,” Judge says referring to the U.S. She says none of the recent presidents have done anything to improve work-life balance either.

“It sucked for me to work for corporate America since I started in 2019,” Judge says. She says all her anger is directed at the government as she doesn’t get they are waiting to implement policies that prioritize work-life balance.

Viewers were shocked to learn about Germany’s generous leave policies. “This makes me want to cry. Most of the world doesn't even want to do 4-day work weeks,” wrote user, @candzbrad.

Meanwhile, viewers who have experience with working or hiring in Germany lauded the country’s policies. “I work for a German company and I can tell you that they are absolutely shocked at the lack of support in the USA,” added another user @rachaelhbecker.

While Judge's claims are astonishing, there is no official information available to corroborate them. Only one Medium article suggests that German workers can take up to 72 weeks of paid leave under the “burnout leave policy” which isn’t mandated by law. The blog suggests the policy is based on agreements between companies and workers.

As per hamburg.com, workers can take up to 6 weeks of paid sick leave only after producing a medical certificate. However, this can be extended up to 72 weeks and workers will be paid 90 percent of their wages under the health insurance scheme Krankengeld.

Coming to maternity leaves, Germany allows 6 weeks of paid leave before birth and 8 weeks after birth, as per Globalization Partners. It seems Judge was referring to the parental leave policy which allows to take a leave until the child turns 3 years old. During parental leave, workers may choose to work part-time or to not work at all. 

For more such informative videos on work life balance, and lazy girl job content, you can follow Gabrielle Judge (@gabrielle_judge) on TikTok.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 10, 2024. It has since been updated.