20 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance

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If you're searching for a perfect work-life balance, certain jobs give you a better chance of finding it than others.

Data scientists, search engine optimization specialists, tour guides, lifeguards and social media managers are the five best jobs for work-life balance this year, according to new rankings from the online career community Glassdoor.

Based entirely on employee feedback shared on Glassdoor.com over the past year, the rankings identified 20 of the highest-rated jobs for work-life balance. Some of the overriding themes in the list of professions that provide a solid work-life balance include that they allow employees to work flexible schedules, work remotely and, in several cases, set their own schedules, said Scott Dobroski, a career trends analyst at Glassdoor.

Flexibility "tends to be a big factor when it comes to maintaining a healthy work-life balance, as it allows employees to manage both their work lives and their personal lives," Dobroski told Business News Daily.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important to many employees because outlets besides work — such as friends, family and hobbies — are critical to their overall happiness and life satisfaction, Dobroski said.

"In fact, when we're satisfied in one part of our life, that can directly impact other parts, including work," Dobroski said. "By maintaining a healthy work-life balance, we see employees who tend to be satisfied in their jobs, meaning they're contributing to their companies, motivated to work hard and be productive."

Additionally, employees with a positive work-life balance are less likely to feel burned out, which is good for both employees and employers, Dobroski noted.
For the study, employees ranked work-life balance on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 equaling very dissatisfied, 3 equaling OK and 5 equaling very satisfied. Here are this year's 20 highest-rated jobs for work-life balance:

• Data scientist – 4.4
• SEO specialist – 4.3
• Tour guide – 4.3
• Lifeguard – 4.3
• Social media manager – 4.3
• Group fitness instructor – 4.2
• User-experience designer – 4.2
• Corporate communications professional – 4.1
• Firefighter – 4.1
• Equity trader – 4.0
• Law clerk – 4.0
• Investment analyst – 4.0
• Administrative assistant – 4.0
• Office assistant – 3.9
• Sales representative – 3.9
• Help-desk technician – 3.9
• Substitute teacher – 3.8
• Carpenter – 3.8
• Real estate broker – 3.8
• Game designer – 3.8

If your job isn't on this year's list, that doesn't mean you can't achieve a healthy work-life balance, Dobroski said. In fact, the most important thing you can do when you're trying to achieve a work-life balance is to determine what that means for you, specifically, he said.

"Once you can identify what this means for you and your needs — both in and out of work — you'll have a better idea of how to gauge whether your job or company is meeting this or not, and how it impacts your overall satisfaction while at work," Dobroski said.

The report was based on at least 20 work-life balance ratings per job title shared on Glassdoor between July 2013 and July 2014.