FlexJobs’ Survey Finds Working Parents Rank Work-Life Balance Ahead of Salary When Evaluating Job Prospects

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FlexJobs

Aug 28, 2018, 08:00 ET


BOULDER, Colo. (PRWEB) August 28, 2018 -- According to an August 2018 FlexJobs survey of 1,100 parents with children 18 and younger living at home, working parents rank work-life balance (84%) ahead of salary (75%) when considering whether or not to take a job. About 41% of all families in the U.S. include children under age 18. The labor force participation rate for all women with children under age 18 was 71% in 2017, up slightly from the prior year.

Flexible work options (75%) and work schedule (72%) rounded out the top four considerations, well ahead of other factors, such as health insurance (38%), retirement benefits (36%), and paid maternity leave (10%). Work-life balance was also named the top reason working parents seek flexible work (81%), followed by family (78%), time savings (40%), and commuting stress (40%). To help working parents in their quest for flexible jobs that offer work-life balance, FlexJobs has identified 12 higher-paying remote jobs for work-life balance.

“Flexible employment gives people more control over how, when, and where they get things done, which is vitally important for groups of people like working parents who have many responsibilities,” said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “Whether it’s working remotely, having a flexible schedule, working part-time, or freelancing, people with flexible work options are better able to structure their work so that they can preempt many of the clashes that typically happen between work and life. Too often, flexibility is seen as a nice-to-have perk, but for many people, perhaps the majority of people who use flexible work options, flexibility is a necessity, and without it they might not be able to participate in the workforce at all.”

FlexJobs culled through Glassdoor’s list of top jobs for work-life balance, as well as Business Insider’s list of low-stress professions, to identify which jobs also had remote options. From there, we used PayScale data to determine the median pay for each. Below are 12 higher-paying remote jobs that can offer great work-life balance:

1. Creative Director: Median pay: $86,000
2. Data Scientist: Median pay: $91,000
3. DevOps Engineer: Median pay: $91,000
4. Document Management Specialist: Median pay: $74,000
5. iOS Developer: Median pay: $81,000
6. Recruiting Manager: Median pay: $71,000
7. Research Engineer: Median pay: $80,000
8. Scrum Master: Median pay: $86,000
9. Social Media Director: Median pay: $72,000
10. Strategy Manager: Median pay: $99,000
11. Technical Account Manager: Median pay: $81,000
12. UX Designer: Median pay: $73,000

Additional survey findings: The working parents who responded to FlexJobs’ survey were highly educated, with 40% having a bachelor’s degree and 32% having a graduate degree.

Career paths and challenges:

  • Forty percent of working parents who took a break in their career after having kids wanted to keep working, but their job was too inflexible to stay in the workforce.
  • Sixty-five percent who took a break in their career after having kids said it was difficult to restart their career.
  • Fifty-seven percent who took a break were out of the workforce for two years or less; 14% were out of the workforce for more than eight years.
  • Eighty-five percent said having kids living at home has affected their interest in a flexible job.
  • Ninety-eight percent say flexible working is something they want for the long-term.
  • Only 5% are worried flexible work arrangements will hurt their career progression.

Employer relationships:

  • Sixty-nine percent of working parents have left or considered leaving a job because it lacked flexibility.
  • Only 17% of working parents said they didn’t believe the gender pay gap and gender inequality were problems in the workplace.
  • Among working moms, 29% said they had felt discriminated against in the workplace because of their gender, and 15% said they had felt somewhat discriminated against in the workplace because of their gender.
  • Thirty-one percent of working parents would consider taking a pay cut in exchange for the option to telecommute as much as they wanted. Forty-one percent feel they shouldn't have to give up anything for the option.
  • Eighty-one percent would be more loyal to their employers if they had a flexible work arrangement.

On the job:

  • Sixty-two percent of working parents think they are more productive working from home than in a traditional workplace.
  • Working parents are much more interested in telecommuting (82%) and flexible schedules (74%) than in freelancing (48%).

Parents are confident in their dual parent/employee roles:

  • The majority of working parents report “needing” to work, but 63%—nearly two out of three parents—also report “wanting” to work.
  • Eighty-seven percent of working parents are entirely sure that they can simultaneously be both great employees and great parents.
  • Eighty-nine percent also indicated that flexible work arrangements would increase their volunteerism at their children’s schools or organized activities.

*Demographic breakdown of the respondents, all with children under 18 living at home: Gender: women (79%), men (21%); Ages: 20-39 (37%), 40-59 (61%), 60+ (2%); Education: high school degree or equivalent (4%), some college but no degree (16%), associate or bachelor’s degree (48%), graduate degree (32%); Career level: entry-level (11%), experienced (56%), manager (20%), senior level or higher (13%). 30% work at companies with more than 1,000 employees. 22% make more than $75,000, with 26% making less than $25,000.

For more information please visit https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/higher-paying-remote-jobs-offer-parents-work-life-balance/ or contact Kathy Gardner at kgardner(at)flexjobs(dot)com.

About FlexJobs
FlexJobs is committed to helping people find a better way to work. As the leading online service for professionals seeking remote, flexible schedule, part-time, and freelance jobs, FlexJobs offers opportunities in over 50 career categories, ranging from entry-level and executive to freelance and full-time. FlexJobs also sets itself apart by providing job seekers with a better, safer, and more efficient way to find professional and legitimate flexible jobs. Having helped over 3 million people in their job searches, FlexJobs has appeared in CNN, CNBC, Time, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and hundreds of other trusted media outlets. To further assist people in bettering their lives through flexible and remote work, FlexJobs' founder and CEO, Sara Sutton, has also launched two additional partner sites, Remote.co and 1 Million for Work Flexibility, to help provide education and awareness about the viability and benefits of remote working and work flexibility. Sutton is also the creator of The TRaD* Works Forum (*Telecommuting, Remote, & Distributed), dedicated to helping companies leverage the benefits of telecommuting, remote, and distributed teams.

Kathy Gardner
Director of PR & Media of FlexJobs
Virtual Office | Newtown, Connecticut
kgardner(at)flexjobs(dot)com | 1.866.991.9222 x 704
@flexjobs | @remote_co | @workflexibility | @kathgard
FlexJobs--Find A Better Way To Work

Kathy Gardner, FlexJobs, +1 (203)253-9531, [email protected]