Feeling overwhelmed by late night emails? When was the last time you went on vacation and unplugged from work?
Maintaining a healthy balance between work and your personal life can be tough, but some jobs allow for more flexibility than others. In addition, work-life balance can look different depending on what’s most important to you—whether it’s the option to work remotely, set a flexible schedule, or take advantage of a generous vacation policy. Either way, it all boils down to having a job that allows you to strike a balance with your personal life.
That’s why we’re highlighting the 29 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance, entirely based on employee feedback shared on Glassdoor over the past year.* This list represents a wide variety of jobs across a number of industries, and that can be found at a wide variety of companies hiring.
[Related: Employers, learn how to leverage your company culture as a way to boost overall quality of life.]
Want a job that won’t require working 24/7? Check out these open jobs:
1. Corporate Recruiter – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.1
- Median Salary: $65,000
- Number of Job Openings: 1,269
2. UX Designer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.1
- Median Salary: $95,000
- Number of Job Openings: 1,139
3. Data Scientist – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $112,000
- Number of Job Openings: 2,106
4. Strategy Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $110,487
- Number of Job Openings: 595
5. UI Designer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $84,500
- Number of Job Openings: 615
6. Recruiting Coordinator – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $48,000
- Number of Job Openings: 604
7. Technical Account Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $75,000
- Number of Job Openings: 1,035
8. Mobile Developer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $101,318
- Number of Job Openings: 2,074
9. Devops Engineer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
- Median Salary: $110,000
- Number of Job Openings: 1,536
10. Research Engineer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
- Median Salary: $103,029
- Number of Job Openings: 483
11. Marketing Analyst – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
- Median Salary: $65,000
- Number of Job Openings: 3,033
12. Scrum Master – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
- Median Salary: $89,428
- Number of Job Openings: 686
13. Substitute Teacher – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
- Median Salary: $25,178
- Number of Job Openings: 420
14. Library Assistant – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
- Median Salary: 28,929
- Number of Job Openings: 356
15. Social Media Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: 54,908
- Number of Job Openings: 1,060
16. PHP Developer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $79,923
- Number of Job Openings: 1,622
17. Web Designer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $61,198
- Number of Job Openings: 485
18. Content Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $73,909
- Number of Job Openings: 544
19. Technical Editor – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $61,486
- Number of Job Openings: 1,529
20. Data Analyst – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $65,694
- Number of Job Openings: 1,994
21. Project Analyst – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $60,000
- Number of Job Openings: 315
22. Marketing Coordinator – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: 48,000
- Number of Job Openings: 11,702
23. Recruiting Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
- Median Salary: $72,000
- Number of Job Openings: 318
24. Client Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $67,462
- Number of Job Openings: 496
25. Computer Programmer – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $75,076
- Number of Job Openings: 288
26. Research Analyst – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $59,003
- Number of Job Openings: 353
27. Research Technician – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $37,320
- Number of Job Openings: 398
28. Creative Manager – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $106,825
- Number of Job Openings: 591
29. Lab Assistant – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
- Median Salary: $28,000
- Number of Job Openings: 1,127
Now that we’ve highlighted jobs with the best work-life balance, what about jobs where work-life balance may need some improvement? In fact, work-life balance has decreased in recent years. The average work-life balance rating on Glassdoor is currently 3.2**, which has held steady over the past four years, but has been in decline over the long-term. In 2009, the average work-life balance rating was 3.5.
A few jobs that did not crack the top 25 include:
Reporter – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.0
- Median Salary: $42,543
- Number of Job Openings: 230
Mental Health Therapist – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 2.7
- Median Salary: $45,000
- Number of Job Openings: 694
Tax Accountant – See Open Jobs
- Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.2
- Median Salary: $61,510
- Number of Job Openings: 758
Want to improve your work-life balance? Once you have a clear vision of how you’d like to improve your work-life balance, talk to your manager to see what’s feasible. Then set goals and expectations.
However, there are some jobs that may require more attention during and out of normal office hours. Before accepting a job, do your research to understand the hours that are expected in the role, where and how you can get your work done, and the overall nature of the job.
Want to work for a company with great work-life balance – no matter what your job is? Check out this list of 17 companies that make work-life balance a core value of their company culture.
What’s the work-life balance like for your job? Let others know by sharing a review.
*Methodology: For a job title to be considered for Glassdoor’s report on the 29 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance (2016), job titles must have received at least 75 work-life balance ratings shared by U.S.-based employees over the past year (9/16/15-9/15/16) from a minimum of 75 companies, with an employer-review ratio of at least 50%. Of the job titles that meet this criteria, they must also include “work-life balance” and/or related terms as a pro of the job in at least 20% of reviews. Rankings represent ratings beyond the thousandth, and ratings are rounded to the nearest tenth for simplicity of reporting. This report takes into account job title normalization that groups similar job titles. Number of job openings represent active job listings on Glassdoor as of 9/15/16.
**Average work-life balance ratings based on at least 60,000 company reviews shared by employees per calendar year. For 2016, rating represents calendar year to date (1/1/16-9/26/16)
For a job title to be considered for Glassdoor’s report on the 29 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance (2016), job titles must have received at least 75 work-life balance ratings shared by U.S.-based employees over the past year (9/16/15-9/15/16) from a minimum of 75 companies, with an employer-review ratio of at least 50%. Of the job titles that meet this criteria, they must also include “work life balance” and/or related terms as a pro of the job in at least 20% of reviews. Rankings represent ratings beyond the thousandth, and ratings are rounded to the nearest tenth for simplicity of reporting. This report takes into account job title normalization that groups similar job titles. Number of job openings represent active job listings on Glassdoor as of 9/15/16.
**Average work-life balance ratings based on at least 60,000 company reviews shared by employees per calendar year. For 2016, rating represents calendar year to date (1/1/16-9/26/16)
