Where to work if you want a personal life and stability

, ,

It’s hard to find a list of large, stable companies with good perks that will let you tour with your rock band once a month. So here is a very useful list with a very bad title: 100 best companies for working moms. For one thing, the title is insulting to dads. But also, these companies have qualities that apply to a much broader spectrum of workers than just parents.

Things like flextime, stable paycheck and good insurance plan are actually hard to come by and are also great for someone like Bill Hewett, a guy I interviewed a while back who had been in a rock band for years living without insurance and needed to get his diabetes under control but didn’t want to give up his music.

It is no secret that most workers want a job that accommodates their personal life. And it is no secret that people like stability in their lives. Sure there is a huge trend toward entrepreneurship, but many people, like surfer Matt Rivers, are starting their own companies so they can live the life they want.

This is a list of companies that might allow you to live that life without having to accept the instability of starting your own company. This is a list for people like yoga maven Sarah Kenny who focus on a passion that is necessarily outside of their work.

So take a look: You don’t need to have kids, you just need to have a dream.

7 replies
  1. Mauri
    Mauri says:

    I am shocked that the big consulting hitters got on the list. Accenture and BAH both require 100% travel.

    Any Accenture or BAH people out there that can vouch for their company?

    Thanks

  2. Liz
    Liz says:

    I work for one of the companies on the list. I wouldn’t say touring with a rock band can go hand in hand with a career with them. Insurance benefits are great, the check is steady, and even new hires get 3 weeks of vacation time. But like any large corporation, the environment is very political. Sure, you can take flex time (come in at 7, leave at 3), but you probably won’t be seen as a “motivated, go-getter.” Appearances are everything. It’s the people who come in early and stay late (even if they are just playing on the net for hours on end) that managers notice and label “high potential.” You’re expected to put the company first. For anyone who wants a personal life the way you describe it, corporate America may not be for them.

  3. Diana
    Diana says:

    Crucial question: do you get all those great things no matter what job you work at the company? Is all that flexibility available to everyone from the CEO to the janitors? Sales execs to receptionists?

    Just wondering…..

  4. Karen
    Karen says:

    I work at one of the companies on this list, UBS. They talk a good case about flexibility, telecommuting, etc. but just try to make it happen. A hint is that almost all the women at the top are single, never married, no kids. Sad.

  5. Penelope Trunk
    Penelope Trunk says:

    Insulting because the implication is that working moms need this more than working dads. It’s true that women do more childcare then men do, even when they have equal careers outside the home. But things are not going to change when the media comes up with parent-friendly lists that they label “for women”.

  6. Trev
    Trev says:

    Mauri,

    I used to worked for Accenture – my wife for BAH. I was genuinely shocked to see these companies on the list. Not that they are bad companies to work for – it’s simply that IT consulting and strategy consulting are very demanding careers. Things move at a fast pace, and with 100% travel, I seriously doubt anyone could make a good faith commitment to parenthood without full-time help (nanny, other family, etc..).

    Who drafted this list, anyway?

Comments are closed.