Balancing Act

I once was visiting a colleague’s house when suddenly a landscaping truck pulled noisily into the driveway. It struck me as strange because I knew him to be a real DIYer, everything from performing simple repairs on his car to re-grouting his bathroom tile.

So when I asked him why he outsources his lawn maintenance, he replied, “I already work 60 hours a week, I don’t need to work 63.”

Good point. And a prime example of one of the fastest growing and most in-demand job perks over the past 10 years – “work life balance.”

Whether we like it or not, we’re working longer hours today than previous generations – no doubt fueled by technology which has enabled an overlap between the office and the home. Twenty years ago it was unthinkable to be answering emails on a Sunday but think about how many of us do exactly that?

Toward that end, I ran across an article that rated the 25 best companies in the U.S. for work-life balance as rated by the company review site Indeed. To qualify the company must have at least 100 employee reviews on Indeed and hire primarily full time workers. The list did not include colleges, non-profits, government or military organizations.

The companies were rated on such criteria as flexible work schedules, employee wellness programs and, of course, perks.

Sadly, no CPA or auditing firms cracked the Top 25 and in my experience, for some of them who made this year’s roster it is probably far better to be an employee than a customer.

Heading the roster is Southwest Airlines, which 90 percent of the time runs like a well-oiled machine, but when something goes wrong, it more resembles the Department of Motor Vehicles when there’s just one person behind the counter.

A head-scratcher is No. 9 – mortgage lender Freddie Mac. Seriously, have you ever tried to get someone on the phone there? If not, just for laughs attempt to. And forget about the red tape once the lending process begins.

JetBlue, my personal favorite air carrier came in at No. 23. Just for the added leg room alone they offer I felt they should have been a bit higher. One notch below them at No. 24 is Salesforce, a tool I use on a daily basis. American Express, at which I have been a member since 1984, was ranked 21^st.

For those keeping score at home after Southwest, Discovery Communications came in second on the list, followed by Altria, CenterPoint Energy, and Viacom.

I’ve never worked for companies that large, but if one of the life-balance perks is landscaping, I’m all ears.