The 20 jobs with the best work-life balance
The traditional 9 to 5 work week is becoming obsolete - but some jobs still allow employees a good work-life balance

The idea that we can “have it all” – work and leisure, career and family - is fading away as new research reveals our work-life balance satisfaction has decreased in the recent years.
According to a survey of 60,000 employees, Glassdoor found that workers reported an average work-life balance satisfaction of 3.2 in 2015 down from 3,4 in 2012 and 3.5 in 2015. The rating is ordered by a job score based on a 5-point scale, where 1.0 means "very dissatisfied", 5.0 means "very satisfied" and 3 is just “ok”.
One reason is that the traditional 9 to 5 work week is becoming obsolete. Another survey from EY found that US workers report they’re working two to four hours more a week, and 36 per cent are on the job an extra five hours or more.
So where do you turn to get a job that lets you have a life?
Glassdoor has identified jobs where employees get a balance by crowdsourcing information from anonymous employees.
For a job title to be considered for the list, it had to receive at least 75 work-life balance ratings shared by US-based employees over the past year from a minimum of 75 companies.
These 20 jobs let employees lead a satisfying life both in and out of the office:
20. Financial Analyst
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.5
Salary: £38,000
Number of job vacancies: 5,728
19. Design Engineer
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.6
Salary: £30,000
Number of job vacancies: 15,390
18. Managing Consultant
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.6
Salary: £72,000
Number of job vacancies: 127,377
17. Senior Software Engineer
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.6
Salary: £45,000
Number of job vacancies: 512
16. Software Engineer
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.6
Salary: £35,000
Number of job vacancies: 2,315
15. Senior Associate
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
Salary: £46,000
Number of job vacancies: 22,119
14. Business Analyst
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
Salary: £36,200
Number of job vacancies: 4,844
13. Researcher
Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
Salary: £30,000
Number of job vacancies: 3,319
12. Data Analyst

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
Salary: £30,000
Number of job vacancies: 1,577
11. Personal Assistant

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
Salary: £25,632
Number of job vacancies: 8,744
10. Marketing Manager

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £40,000
Number of job vacancies: 3,667
09. Research Associate

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £32,000
Number of job vacancies: 19,423
08. Human Resources Specialist

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £43,500
Number of job vacancies: 15,710
7. Human Resources Manager

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £45,000
Number of job vacancies: 5,658
6. Marketing Executive

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £25,000
Number of job vacancies: 16,235
5.Product Manager

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £49,500
Number of job vacancies: 480
4. Senior Business Analyst

Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
Salary: £48,000
Number of job vacancies: 29,601
3. Research Assistant

Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
Salary: £26,500
Number of job vacancies: 842
2. Commercial Manager

Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
Salary: £45,000
Number of job vacancies: 3,391
1. Web Developer

Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.1
Salary: £28,000
Number of job vacancies: 4,595
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments