Data Watch

Work-life Balance Ranks High Among Employees

Work-life balance continues to grow in its importance to job selection and satisfaction. A slight majority (55%) of men have favorable views of how their employers support work-life balance, according a survey by Kenexa Research Institute of 10,000 U.S. workers.

A number of others surveys recently conducted among employees in the U.S. and elsewhere shed additional light on the dynamics of work-life balance, and on workers' perceptions around the issue:

• Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) of employees in the U.K. wish they had more time to pursue a hobby or pastime, reveals 1,000 face-to-face realbuzz.com-conducted interviews in that country.
• Among 5,000 business professionals who frequent online niche career communities, 57% consider the achievement of a healthy work-life balance to be their most important workplace goal in 2008, finds a poll by Beyond.com, of visitors to its more than 15,000 such sites.
• Similarly, 53% say achieving work-life balance is their leading business goal for 2008, a survey by Office Depot of 2,500 U.S. consumers who have home offices indicates.
• Nearly three-fifths (78%) of working moms in the U.K. encountered challenges in achieving a healthy work-life balance during the weeks leading up to Christmas last month, a study by Citrix Online shows.
• The desire to improve work-life balance is second, following economic stability, on the 2008 wish list of CEOs who responded to a year-end poll by Chief Executive Magazine.