10 jobs with the best work-life balance

What is a work-life balance?

First off, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here. What does a job with work and life balance look like?

Well, if you asked a group of 100 people that same question, you’d get some very different responses. Flexible hours. The ability to work from home. More paid time off. Free nights and weekends. Higher wages. Employee reward programs. One person may love a job that lets them work from anywhere while they travel the world but another may require flexible hours to allow for school pick-up.

Basically, it’s all about having a job that fits into your life –– rather than having to work your life around your job. It’s not having to sacrifice your family time and social life just to keep your career going.

Why is work-life balance important?

The key word here – and something we have probably all experienced to some extent — is burnout. When we spend too many hours at a desk, hustling to make money or impress our boss, we don’t have enough time for ourselves. Overwork leads to burnout, which affects every single aspect of your life.

Chronic stress is one of the most pressing health issues we’re facing, and it’s caused by a lack of a healthy work and life balance.

Because it’s such a personal issue, and we all have different requirements, there may be no “best” work-life balance job you can go after. But there are definitely some occupations and industries that offer more flexibility than others.

For example, a UX designer for a startup will probably have more flexibility than an ER nurse who wouldn’t ever have the option to work from home.

So, without further ado…

The 10 best jobs for work-life balance

Based on 600,000 reviews, GlassDoor found the best jobs that provide employees with a healthy work-life balance. For the third year running, tech was rated the number one industry.

Here are the top ten roles. Some might surprise you…

DevOps Engineer

This job, which is a combo of IT and software development, is all about developing programs to test and troubleshoot tech operations. Of course, it will vary between companies, but overwhelmingly DevOps Engineers report a stellar work-life balance.

Though you sometimes have to be on call, most roles allow you to work from anywhere in the world. The role offers an attractive salary and opportunities for growth, and DevOps Engineers are always in demand.

UI Designer

User interface (UI) designers design everything that users will see on an app, website, video game, or virtual menu. As we live in such an online and tech-heavy world, UI Designer jobs are constantly available, meaning they won’t be out of work or struggling to find a role.

Though not quite as high a salary as UX designers, UI specialists are paid very well. Plus, most companies won’t require you in the office full-time, making it a perfect flexible position.

Research Engineer

The beauty of working as a research engineer is that you can be hired across multiple industries to develop products, processes, or technology for your employer. Depending on the job, they may be required to work in a lab or on-site, however, there’s an option for working from home while collating data.

Mobile Developer

Again, the beauty of tech jobs is that they can be done from anywhere. The job of a mobile developer entails developing apps, writing code, and fixing bugs, and is one of the highest-paying jobs you can get without a tertiary degree.

It’s one of the fastest-growing jobs with a high growth rate, especially as we move into Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. If you’re looking for job stability, this one’s a gem.

Recruiting Coordinator

Every company needs to hire employees, so recruiting coordinators are always in demand. The hours are incredibly stable… there’s no such thing as a hiring emergency at 3 am!

Thanks to Zoom and virtual meeting rooms, it’s a job that’s increasingly being done from home, especially after the pandemic. The only downside is that the pay isn’t as attractive as other roles on this list.

Strategy Manager

This role is all about helping companies think outside the box to come up with creative ways to grow. It’s definitely not an entry-level role, and the salary reflects that!

Strategy Managers tend to work directly under the C-suite, where work-life balance is a natural job perk.

Data Scientist

This is another role that spans multiple industries, so data scientists are rarely desperate for work. The role requires you to trawl through data for insights that can be used in all manner of ways.

It’s a high-paying role across all industries, and comes with regular hours –– most companies allow for hybrid or WFH arrangements.

UX Designer

The step up from a UI designer, which we mentioned above, a UX designer oversees every aspect of a product’s design from a user experience standpoint. Any time you interact with a tech product, a UX designer has had a hand in how it looks and feels.

Just like most other high-level tech roles, it comes with an impressive salary and flexible working conditions, along with the ability to set your own hours.

Corporate Recruiter

Corporate Recruiters, or headhunters, take out the top spot on the work-life balance list. It’s a job that requires a lot of personal interaction – usually with pretty interesting people! For extroverts, it’s the perfect role. Rather than sitting in front of a spreadsheet all day, it can involve travel, wining and dining, and very regular hours. The salary isn’t amazing, but the payoff is worth it.

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