According to the OECD’s Better Life Index, the U.S. ranks 28th in the world when it comes to work-life balance. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is European countries that top the list. Denmark, Sweden and Norway rank in the top 10 countries worldwide with the best work–life balance.
It’s not that Americans don’t want a better split between their jobs and the rest of their lives. In fact, a recent survey by car manufacturer Ford identified that 51% of U.S. workers would actually be willing to take a 20% pay cut in exchange for a better quality of life.
This desire is even more pronounced for younger workers, with 60% of millennials and 56% of Gen Z saying they’d accept less money for a better work-life balance.
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Despite that, Americans are still putting in more hours of work annually than many other nations. According to the OECD, U.S. workers put in 1,804 hours a year, compared to New Zealand (1,748), the UK (1,531) and Germany (1346.8).
And according to additional research, 54% of adults polled admitted to working while on vacation, with half saying they also feel guilty when they’re on PTO.
How big tech is doing work-life balance
So how does the tech industry stack up for American workers? A new piece of research from the Fullstack Academy examined Glassdoor reviews for over 100 of the most well-known tech companies in the U.S., and measured this by focusing on keywords that indicate either a good or poor work-life balance.
Evaluating companies’ work-life balance, the report divides them into five groups based on the frequency of work-life balance keywords in the Glassdoor cons section, compared to the total number of reviews for each company.
The top work-life balance keywords in positive Glassdoor reviews included: flexibility, remote, work from home, WFH, PTO, time off, flexible hours, and flexible schedule.
The most frequently mentioned keywords in the pros section are “flexibility,” “remote,” and “work from home.”
That all sounds great, but the report’s findings reveal significant disparities among high-profile tech companies in the U.S. According to its analysis, some companies truly excel at promoting a healthy work-life balance. In contrast, other companies need to do better.
Overall, only 40% of big tech companies have a good or very good work-life balance. This is evidenced by keywords, like “burn out,” appearing 73% more frequently in the cons section of Glassdoor reviews, than wellness keywords such as “well-being” in the pros section.
Best tech firms
If you’re considering a job move this year, which companies should you look at?
NetApp, Cisco, and Spotify have the best work-life balance according to the study, with Oracle and Adobe scoring as “very good” for work-life balance. Microsoft and IBM rank as “good”, and Salesforce and Google came in as “average”.
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Adobe, Oracle, and Microsoft stand out for their proactive efforts towards maintaining a healthy work-life balance, as evidenced by frequent mentions of “PTO,” “flexible hours,” and “hybrid” in the Glassdoor reviews pros section.
So does better work-life balance equate to poorer productivity for companies? It would seem that isn’t the case, as Microsoft, the most profitable Fortune 500 company, has a good work-life balance.
Adobe, Cisco, and Oracle are also among the most profitable Fortune 500 tech companies with very good work-life balance ratings. Glassdoor reviewers frequently mention “remote,” “health,” and “family” in the pros section for these companies.
In a competitive labor market where specialization and skills are highly valued, these companies actually improve their chances of attracting top talent by maintaining a positive work-life balance.
The rapid pace of tech innovation and the skills gap it sometimes creates can lead to longer, stressful hours for existing staff. Equally, when innovation moves at such a pace that the labor market can’t keep up, unique opportunities are presented for those who are skilling up their abilities, like machine learning.
If this sounds like you, then you can apply for a new job at a company that offers balance to your work and wider lifestyle needs right here.
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