Here are the top companies that promote a great work-life balance

The idea of a great work-life balance may have become a cliché for many today. This is because most companies and professionals aren’t clear on its very concept. A work-life balance is the amalgamation of a series of different benefits, like flexible hours, healthcare, and remote working. It helps you build on your professional life without having to compromise on your personal one.

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While the generation popularly referred to as the ‘baby boomers’ (between the ages of 51 and 69), do not mandate a work-life balance to be the determinant factor while working at a company, the millennials think otherwise. Studies suggest that millennials would even take a price cut in order to secure a greater work-life balance.

Companies are fast picking up on this trend and attempting to provide for the series of benefits that guarantee a culture that promotes a great work-life balance. Job site Indeed’ drew up a list of companies that have adhered to this very practice, based upon a number of factors like employee reviews, managerial reports, and employee ratings.

According to Paul Wolfe, Senior VP of HR for Indeed: "In today's tight labour market, proper work-life balance practices are essential for employee retention. Companies who are empathetic and proactively work to provide the appropriate personal time for employees tend to stand out.”

Surprisingly, most of the companies that are listed in Indeed’s survey fall outside the specialised fields of tech and finance, which is at odds with its promotion of employee-benefit culture. However, most of these hail from a diversified series of fields and industries like transportation, healthcare, food retailers, consumer products, and more.

Wegmans

A leading American supermarket chain, Wegmans is a great champion for providing a series of benefits to its employees, in order for them to achieve a greater work-life balance. This includes customised yoga programmes to encourage fitness and mental health, subsidised weight watchers at meetings, and discounts for employee fitness programmes. By doing so, the company strives to ensure its employees’ health—both physical and mental— which works in the favour of both parties involved.

"We understand the relationship between work experiences and physical and mental health. Work-life balance is a key differentiator why people choose to work and stay at Wegmans,” says a spokeswoman for the company.

NIKE

For NIKE, the benefits that employees receive from the company are based on their position, experience, and location. However, most of the common benefits that they accrue include paid sabbaticals, assistance with tuition fees, and discounts on fitness programs. According to employee reviews on Glassdoor, the company provides for a ‘fantastic work-life balance’.

Cisco

Cisco encourages the use of social-networking software, which allows its employees to work from home or other remote spaces, including rooms offered by the plethora of collaborative spaces present across the country. At the same time, the company also offers its employees a ‘Fun Fund’, which they can spend on celebrations and other enjoyable activities, at their own leisure.

American Express

Despite working at a company as popular and busy as American Express, its employees receive a series of benefits such as flexible hours, the option to work remotely, and create their own schedules—all helping them execute a greater work-life balance. Working through and around their own schedules instils a sense of creative freedom, inspiration, and renewed dedication within the employees of the company.

Starbucks

Starbucks is one of the greatest proponents of its employees having a great work-life balance. This is probably why so many of its staff are students who are yet to graduate, alongside making good money, also have time enough to keep up with their studies and other academic responsibilities. The company also offers a ‘Starbucks College Achievement Plan’, where employees who work more than 20 hours a week are given the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree with full tuition coverage for every year of the college course, through Arizona State University.

H&R Block

The famous American tax preparation company offers flexible hours to both its full-time and part-time employees. In fact, the company hires more than 70,000 part-time associates during busy parts of the year, and due to the flexibility of their schedules, they return and choose to work with H&R Block, according to spokesman Gene King. Other than a series of other health and welfare benefits, the company provides its workers with tax preparation services, legal services, and tuition assistance.

Which Indian company, according to you, provides benefits that promote a greater work-life balance? Let us know in the comments below!

Read also: How shorter working hours lead to rise in productivity.