Sweden’s generous paid parental leave benefits and work-life balance earn widespread praise

For many employees, generous paid parental leave is a coveted benefit. As they consider starting families, this support becomes an important factor in their decision-making process.

In Sweden, a mother took 21 months off for her children’s birth, while her partner took 15 months.

This shared parental leave changed how they saw each other’s responsibilities, showing the impact of balancing caregiving roles.

Nicola Lindgren moved from New Zealand to Sweden for work in her mid-20s. Initially unsure about staying, she decided to remain after meeting her future husband in 2015.

They married in 2019 and chose to settle in Sweden for its strong childcare and work-life balance. Later that year, they welcomed their first child.

In Sweden, parents receive 480 days of paid parental leave per child, typically split between them, with options to transfer up to 150 days to each other and share up to 30 days. Single parents get the full 480 days.

Nicola began her leave two weeks before her daughter was born, and her husband took 10 days of paid leave after the birth, which is common in Sweden.

“It was such a shock to the system. You hear other people say how hard it is to be a parent and how tired you’ll be,” Nicola told Business Insider.

This made Nicola especially grateful to have her husband at home to support her during this demanding time.

Nicola took 10 months of parental leave for her first child and received 80% of her salary for most of this time.

Both she and her husband took three months off together with their baby. Her husband used a mix of parental and annual leave to do this.

“I loved it,” she said. “When I needed a nap or a rest, my husband could cuddle our child.”

Taking time off together helped her and her husband connect more deeply. She felt her whole life changed as it centered around their child.

She also found that her husband’s substantial parental leave allowed them to share each other’s experiences.

When Nicola returned to work, her husband experienced the daily challenges she faced with the baby.

He took 10 months off, including three months that overlapped with Lindgren’s leave. This role reversal helped them adjust their expectations of each other.

“When I started working again, I started to relate more to him and realized how he felt,” she said. “I didn’t fully get that until it was my turn to go back to work.”

Nicola took eight months of parental leave when their second child was born in December 2021.

Her husband’s leave overlapped with hers for one month and continued for another five months while Nicola was back at work.

After her second child, Nicola went back to work full-time. She found that her colleagues had no negative views about her taking parental leave.

She noted that senior managers frequently mention needing to leave work early due to preschool schedules or starting later because of their children’s needs.

“I’m very lucky,” she said.

Nicola Lindgren’s story gets tons of positive feedback:

“I had the opportunity to live in Sweden for awhile and it was almost like a utopia. No one was stressed, both parents were always present, you saw just as many dads at the park with their babies as you did moms…it was so family oriented in such a beautiful way. I didn’t want to leave to be honest. And most bathrooms were unisex in public setting…and it had been like that for decades meaning both parents had access to changing tables. It has always been a none issue.”- Amanda Raye.

“I am an American who has lived in Sweden for >20 years. My son was born here. For parents, the system is vastly superior to the US’s in every way. No debate. Paternal leave, childcare, healthcare, sick leave (including parental), tuition-free college, generous paid vacation. I pay my taxes (about 35%, and I am high income) and get soooooooo much in return.” – Todd Townsend.

“Wow that is a good life there, after 6 weeks I went back to work.” – Fifi Lo.

“Sweden set the best example for a country to grow a future generation by giving parents incentive & encourage birth rate so their future population won’t fall behind.” – Christine Heath.

Meanwhile, here’s a quick video showing how it feels like to be a dad on paid parental leave in Sweden: