These Are The UK’s Top Companies For Work-Life Balance

Since the pandemic hit, achieving a decent work-life balance has never felt more vital. This can mean different things to different people – some of us want to work flexibly; others want to transition to part-time working. The key is finding a way of working that incorporates self-care and keeps burnout at bay.

It's definitely interesting, then, to check out new research revealing the UK's best companies for work-life balance. Employer-rating website Glassdoor compiled the list by analysing more than 600,000 reviews posted by UK employees during 2021.

Overall, it found that tech companies tend to offer the best work-life balance, while the hospitality, retail and travel sectors perform relatively poorly. Check out the top 20 companies for work-life balance below, with their respective sectors in brackets.

1. Office for National Statistics (government)
2. Softcat (tech)
3. Arm (tech)
4. Sky Betting & Gaming (tech)
5. Mastercard (finance)
6. Bank of England (finance)
7. Dell Technologies (tech)
8. FirstPort (real estate)
9. Sage (computer hardware & software)
10. SAP (tech)
11. Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (government)
12. Anglian Water (utilities)
13. Radius Payment Solutions (telecommunications)
14. Cisco Systems (tech)
15. Google (tech)
16. The Very Group (fashion)
17. Barratt Developments (construction)
18. Salesforce (tech)
19. npower (utilities)
20. Nationwide Building Society (finance)

Glassdoor also found that just under two-thirds of UK workers (66%) are intending to make changes to improve their work-life balance. For just over a third (36%), flexible working hours is key to achieving this, while for just under a third, the ultimate priority is where they work.

"The companies topping our work-life balance list share one important characteristic: they offer a diverse range of options that allow employees to create a balance that works for them as individuals,” said Glassdoor’s in-house economist Lauren Thomas.

"Mental health continues to be an important discussion for workers but the sharp increase in mentions of burnout across our reviews suggests that companies need to do more to meet the needs of their workforce," Thomas added.  "As 'The Great Resignation' continues, it's helpful to remember that there are many companies out there that recognise the importance of work-life balance for employees, and Glassdoor can help uncover the companies making a difference."