HR Morning

Which jobs promote the best work/life balance? You might be surprised

Tim Gould
by Tim Gould
2 minute read

Work/life balance is among the most common buzzwords — and the slipperiest issues — around HR today. Wonder what jobs offer the best of this elusive ideal? Read on.  
Recently, Glassdoor identified the 25 Best Jobs for Work/Life Balance, compiled using employee feedback shared on the career consultant’s website over the past year.
Glassdoor’s clients rated their satisfaction with their jobs’ work/life balance on a 1-to-5 scale — 1 being totally unsatisfied, 5 being very satisfied. Turns out work-life balance has decreased in recent years, as employees have reported an average work-life balance satisfaction rating of 3.5 in 2009, 3.4 in 2012, and 3.2 thus far in 2015.
So here’s Glassdoor’s lineup of this year’s 25 best jobs for work/life balance (listing includes average salary and number of available positions on the Glassdoor jobs board):

  1. Data Scientist
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.2
  • Salary: $114,808
  • Number of Job Openings: 1,315
  1. SEO Manager
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.1
  • Salary: $45,720
  • Number of Job Openings: 338
  1. Talent Acquisition Specialist
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
  • Salary: $63,504
  • Number of Job Openings: 1,171
  1. Social Media Manager
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 4.0
  • Salary: $40,000
  • Number of Job Openings: 661
  1. Substitute Teacher
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
  • Salary: $24,380
  • Number of Job Openings: 590
  1. Recruiting Coordinator
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
  • Salary: $44,700
  • Number of Job Openings: 446
  1. UX (User Experience) Designer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
  • Salary: $91,440
  • Number of Job Openings: 338
  1. Digital Marketing Manager
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.9
  • Salary: $70,052
  • Number of Job Openings: 640
  1. Marketing Assistant
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $32,512
  • Number of Job Openings: 384
  1. Web Developer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $66,040
  • Number of Job Openings: 2,117
  1. Risk Analyst
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $69,088
  • Number of Job Openings: 208
  1. Civil Engineer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $65,532
  • Number of Job Openings: 809
  1. Client Manager
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $71,120
  • Number of Job Openings: 503
  1. Instructional Designer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $66,040
  • Number of Job Openings: 782
  1. Marketing Analyst
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $60,000
  • Number of Job Openings: 341
  1. Software QA Engineer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $91,440
  • Number of Job Openings: 457
  1. Web Designer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $53,848
  • Number of Job Openings: 500
  1. Research Technician
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.8
  • Salary: $36,525
  • Number of Job Openings: 299
  1. Program Analyst
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $71,120
  • Number of Job Openings: 524
  1. Data Analyst
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $58,928
  • Number of Job Openings: 1,954
  1. Content Manager
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $60,960
  • Number of Job Openings: 409
  1. Solutions Engineer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $92,456
  • Number of Job Openings: 652
  1. Lab Assistant
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $27,550
  • Number of Job Openings: 779
  1. Software Developer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $80,000
  • Number of Job Openings: 3,330
  1. Front End Developer
  • Work-Life Balance Rating: 3.7
  • Salary: $75,000
  • Number of Job Openings: 1337

We’re struck by a couple of things here: First, how many of these jobs are in technology — don’t we keep hearing about how hard it is to find qualified tech people, and how overworked current staffers are?
Second, we wonder how many of these jobs would have even existed if similar research was conducted 15 years ago. Not too many, we’d think.