How does HR fare in work-life balance?

While corporate recruiters seem to enjoy a relatively good work-life balance, the same can't be said of HR professionals.

According to a survey by Emolument.com which asked 1,360 professionals how they feel about their work-life balance, 42% of those in the human resources profession rated their jobs as having awful work-life balance. While 45% thought it was satisfactory, and only 13% felt that they have great work-life balance.

Compared to professionals from the eight other jobs surveyed, this places HR in the second last place, with only those in consulting reporting to have worse work-life balance (49% awful, 38% satisfactory, and 13% great).

Here's how the different professions rank in terms of work-life balance(awful | satisfactory | great):

1. Software development (29% | 52% | 19%)2. Engineering (31% | 49% | 20%)3. Marketing (33% | 42% | 25%)4. Sales and business development (34% | 42% | 24%)5. Programme and project management (38% | 34% | 28%)6. Executive management (39% | 41% | 20%)7. Financial control (39% | 40% | 21%)8. Human resources (42% | 45% | 13%)9. Consulting (49% | 38% | 13%)

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When it comes to work-life balance by country, France topped the ranking with 71% of its workers feeling satisfied by their work-life balance. This enthusiasm can probably be explained with their 5 weeks of holidays and 35 hour work week.

On the other end of the spectrum countries which offer top salaries to expatriate employees such as Hong Kong, Singapore and UAE are at the bottom of the list with 56% of UAE workers, 48% of Hongkongers, and 47% of Singaporeans thinking that their work-life balance is awful.

Here's a full list of countries ranked by work-life balance (awful | satisfactory | great):

1. France (29% | 44% | 27%)2. Switzerland (33% | 45% | 22%)3. USA (37% | 38% | 25%)4. UK (38% | 42% | 20%)5. Ireland (38% | 44% | 18%)6. Italy (44% | 50% | 6%)7. Germany (45% | 45% | 10%)8. Singapore (47% | 36% | 17%)9. Hong Kong (48% | 33% | 19%)10. Spain (55% | 30% | 15%)11. UAE (56% | 22% | 22%)

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The survey also found that while 42% of graduates starting their careers believe their work-life balance is awful, as they come to grips with their careers, dissatisfaction decreases to 32%. However, as these professionals move up the ranks and take on more responsibilities and work commitments which limit the time they can enjoy outside the office, dissatisfaction increases to 37%.

Check out the infographic below for the full results:

Lead photo / 123RFInfographic / Emolument.com