The Best 25 Companies for Work-Life Balance

Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor

Though many employees strive to attain a positive work-life balance, achieving it is easier said than done.

A new study by career site Glassdoor revealed that some employers are more generous than others in giving employees those perks, which include flexible schedules and the opportunity to work from home.

Leading the way is business analytics software and services provider SAS Institute, which tops this year's rankings of the best companies for work-life balance. The North Carolina-based company earned high marks from employees for its flexible work options, 35-hour workweeks and other benefits, like the opportunity to have their own office.

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Allyson Willoughby, Glassdoor's senior vice president of people, said promoting a healthy work-life balance can help with both recruiting and retention efforts.

"By encouraging a healthy work-life balance — such as instituting flexible schedules, the option to work from home or even fostering managers to recognize employees are people with lives outside of work — employers can build a really solid company culture that employees appreciate and want to be a part of, leading them to stay longer and, oftentimes, be more productive as well," Willoughby told BusinessNewsDaily.

This year's rankings were based solely on the input of employees who elected to participate in an online company review survey. The survey gathered employee feedback on some of the best and worst reasons to work for their employer.

Other organizations ranked on this year's Top 25 Companies for Work-Life Balance include the following:

  • National Instruments

  • Slalom Consulting

  • MITRE

  • Orbitz Worldwide

  • Scottrade

  • Mentor Graphics

  • FactSet

  • Agilent Technologies

  • Nokia

  • MathWorks

  • Autodesk

  • AOL

  • Citrix Systems

  • GlobalLogic

  • Yahoo!

  • Tieto

  • MasterCard

  • Morningstar

  • Shell Oil

  • Robert Bosch

  • Chevron

  • REI

  • STMicroelectronics

  • NetApp

"Employees at top companies on this list report workplace benefits like flexible schedules, telecommuting, and perks such as child care on-site, laundry on-site or transportation to and from work as positives that contribute to a healthy work-life balance," Willoughby said. "For employers, it's important to recognize that these are easily adoptable practices that resonate among employees at the highest-rated companies for work-life balance, so they are policies to consider."

This is the third year in a row that Glassdoor has ranked companies based on their work-life balance.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Chad Brooks on Twitter @cbrooks76 or BusinessNewsDaily @BNDarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

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