Achieving a decent work-life balance is a privilege that many of us feel as though we're constantly striving for. Transitioning to a four-day working week or moving towards flexible working are ways of potentially improving this balance – as is swapping a full-time role for a part-time one.
But while conventional wisdom suggests that improving your work-life balance could mean having to accept a drop in salary, new research suggests this isn't necessarily the case.
Recruitment website Glassdoor has compiled a list of the top 15 jobs for work-life balance in UK, and many of them have higher typical salaries than the current national average of just under £29,000 for full-time roles.
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In fact, the roles of Engagement Manager, HR Business Partner and Audit Manager all make Glassdoor's top 15 – and have typical annual salaries over or approaching the £50,000 mark.
Needless to say, this is pretty encouraging news given that workplace burnout is now officially a medical diagnosis.
“Not everyone prioritises money, so if you are looking for a job offering a good work-life balance then these roles definitely stand out," says Glassdoor's Economic Research Analyst, Amanda Stansell. "Many of them also offer well above average salaries for the UK, proving it is possible to find a job that pays good money yet doesn’t take over your life."
Stansell also says that Glassdoor's research suggests opportunities for flexible working may be more widespread than we think.
“Despite very few jobs in the UK being advertised explicitly as 'flexible', many of the jobs in our ranking can be found in a wide range of industries, which goes to show that there is potential to keep a reasonable limit on working hours with all sorts of different employers,” she adds.
The Top 15 jobs for work-life balance are:
1. Sales Development Representative
Work-life balance rating: 4.6
Typical base salary: £27,000
2. Research Fellow
Work-life balance rating: 4.6
Typical base salary: £34,000
3. Customer Success Manager
Work-life balance rating: 4.5
Typical base salary: £40,000
4. Marketing Assistant
Work-life balance rating: 4.4
Typical base salary: £20,000
5. Engagement Manager
Work-life balance rating: 4.4
Typical base salary: £48,000
6. Data Scientist
Work-life balance rating: 4.4
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Typical base salary: £46,000
7. Recruiter
Work-life balance rating: 4.3
Typical base salary: £25,000
8. Copywriter
Work-life balance rating: 4.2
Typical base salary: £29,000
9. Web Developer
Work-life balance rating: 4.2
Typical base salary: £31,000
10. Audit Manager
Work-life balance rating: 4.2
Typical base salary: £52,000
11. Recruiting Manager
Work-life balance rating: 4.1
Typical base salary £40,000
12. Operations Analyst
Work-life balance rating: 4.1
Typical base salary: £30,000
13. Executive Assistant
Work-life balance rating: 4.1
Typical base salary: £37,000
14. Product manager
Work-life balance rating: 4.1
Typical base salary: £52,500
15. HR Business Partner
Work-life balance rating: 4.1
Typical base salary: £49,000