Article created by: Austėja Akavickaitė
Having a proper work-life balance is one of the most important factors for employees everywhere. However, what that looks like and whether it’s even feasible, will depend a lot on the industry. Having the flexibility to work remotely can help with that. Though, in other cases, it doesn’t much soften the workload.
Redditor u/Spirited-Ambassador5 sparked a lively debate on the r/AskWomen subreddit after asking the women who earn six-figure annual incomes while working from home about what they do and what their personal life looks like. Many high-earners were happy to spill the tea. Scroll down for their stories and for a dash of inspiration that it’s possible to build a career even remotely when more and more bosses are trying to get their employees back in the office.
Bored Panda wanted to get to grips with how employees might convince management that remote work suits them better, so we reached out to workplace expert and bestselling author Lynn Taylor. She runs a popular blog on Psychology Today.
#1
I'm an author (nearly 30 years). I'm mainly a horror author, but I also do sci-fi, fantasy, nonfiction (science, health, human sexuality, food, gardening, techie stuff), and kids and family. I am under retainer with several video game companies around the world as well. I spend most of my time with my family and enjoying hobbies! It's awesome.
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#2
I’m a glass artist 🌸 I was raised primarily by my grandmother, who was also a glass artist. I’ve made six figures consistently for the past eight years.
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#5
I work for a software company in training and content design and make over 200k. I've been working remotely for about 11 years now, way before it became necessary in the pandemic. My work life balance is good. It's always helped me to stick to a strict "work schedule". I work the typical 8-4, sometimes more sometimes less, but it's pretty flexible to drop my son off at school, go to apts etc as long as my work is done and projects are completed on time. The biggest rule I always stuck to was having a home office, when I'm in my office, I'm working, when I'm done working, my office is unoccupied and closed. It got a bit hairy when my son realized I was downstairs (he has a nanny when he isn't in school) when he was about 2 he would try to come find me but he now understands that's where I work.
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I’m an orthopedic physician assistant in a HCOL city. I make 168k base salary and I do one OT shift a month of home only phone call (I field phone calls overnight but never have to leave my home) which bumps me up about 8-10k a year. I’ve been doing this for 13 years so I did not begin at this salary. I’ve been in my position for 10 years and I’m good at what I do and have made myself very valuable to my employer. This has allowed my quality of life benefits like early Fridays and leaving when my work is finished. I’m efficient and get everything done in a very timely manner. I also work for someone who has kids so he gets it- I can’t be late and I can’t miss important things like first day of school. My job also has killer benefits. I get 7 weeks of vacation, 8 paid holidays, 12 sick days, and no holidays or weekends.
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#16
I’m an attorney. I have zero work life balance and work 60-70 hours a week.
The starting salary is about $215,000 right out of law school, and at my level, which is three years in, it’s $250,000. Most people leave large law firms in three to five years because it's not worth it to them. But a few people stick it out, and I guess for them it’s worth it. If you make partner at these firms, you can earn millions.
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#23
I’m a counselor and I barely work and I basically have the easiest life imaginable 🥴
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I work in cyber security and it’s great. Lots of extra time during work and always off on time. No late nights or weekend work
I work as a designer fully remote making 200K. It was supposed to be hybrid 2 days a week in the office but then I just didn’t go in and no one has really said anything about it. That job is really only 1-2 days of actual work a week but I run contract work around it so my work-life balance is tipped. I do get to walk my puppy a lot tho
I'm a paralegal for the federal government making $119k a year. I have great work balance working 40 hours a week with no commute.
Fully remote visual designer with 3 YOE at a chill/older tech company. I make $115-125k/year depending on the bonus. I probably work around 20-30 hours a week on average so my work life balance is very good. On top of that my company’s HQ is 3 hours ahead of my time zone, so I have my afternoons completely free since a large % of my colleagues log off earlier. On top of remote work this makes my schedule super flexible which is nice.
Paralegal, my work/life balance is pretty great. We are only required to work 7.5 hours a day. Some days I have to work longer, legal work can be unpredictable at times, but it's not that often. Since I'm home and don't have to commute, I don't really care. I can go for walks in the morning or an early exercise class or lounge in bed with my coffee before I start work. Or I can exercise at lunch. I save a ton of money on gas and meals. I get a lot done when I get up for short breaks and on my lunch hour, leaving way less chores for the weekend. I can do things after work without the commute, so more of my time is my own. My parents have needed some assistance lately and since we live five minutes from each other, I was able to help out and not affect my work.
Data engineer, and it varies so much day to day. Some weeks I work like 20 hours and life is good. Other weeks, like recently, I work like 70-80 hours a week.
I’m a healthcare recruiter. Fully remote. Work/life balance is good because I control my schedule. My normal calendar is open for interviews from 7A-7P Monday to Thursday and 7A-4P on Friday but I rarely have calls outside of traditional business hours. If I’ve got something going on and don’t want to be available I just block my schedule. I never work weekends outside of mindlessly scrolling through job boards and reviewing CVs if I’m bored on a Saturday morning.
Compensation is a base salary + quarterly bonuses based on placements. The bonus is really where I make my money- example, my Q2 bonus was decent, but not great, and it was $50K. As my pipeline sits today, I’ll probably take home around $300K this year.
It’s a great gig if you’ve got the personality for it.
Software Engineer. I definitely work longer hours, but I appreciate the freedom to live wherever I want. I'm a divorced empty nester, so I do as I please when not working. I'm much more sedentary and worry about my health. Got a dog; walks and playtime help. I do miss being in the office at times, but when I go into the office (a couple of times a year), I feel like I'm not getting anything done. I've had to make a lot of adjustments to ensure I do something other than work and sleep. My office is in a room I don't spend time in except to work. I take time in the mornings to ready myself, eat, putz around. I rarely work past 6pm. The aforementioned dog is a pleasant distraction. I socialize away from home as much as possible. I have a constant bedtime and rarely have trouble sleeping. I'm not on call anymore, so that helps. Overall, I'm glad for the opportunity.
I'm a counselor with my own private practice. I had no life outside of studying and work initially when I was in school, doing field placements, and setting up. I've had a waitlist since the 2nd month of opening. I do mostly telehealth, have freedom over my schedule, and work between 10-6, sometimes a bit earlier or later. I'll schedule 5-6 people per day and spend additional time doing admin work, consulting on cases, and the occasional side project from a couple of fulfilling volunteer roles. Outside of weekends I try to give myself the afternoon off of one day midweek, and whenever there is a gap between clients I can read through my clinical library or go to any appointments of my own. I don't take any federal holidays because it feels like a hassle, but I give myself a month off of vacation. I don't take more than 2 weeks off at a time for continuity's sake. There are pros and cons to working in any setting in behavioral health. Personally, I don't mind the extra work that comes with running a small business. I'd always wanted to do this and am thankful for the challenges I have. Some days are low stress while others are high.
I’m an engineer. I went hybrid back in 2016 and then mostly remote in 2020 after getting promoted. The trade off with this position being mostly remote is that I have to travel more when I used to hardly ever travel for work. I personally don’t mind that part too much. My work life balance is pretty good. I’m usually done with work by 6pm at the latest. My last kiddo is leaving for college this month so I don’t have any children I had to tend to. My husband’s schedule is the same every week but he works a combination of morning shifts, midday shifts, and night shifts.
I am a Sr program manager for a non profit and I make 112k. Fully remote with amazing work/life balance. 37.5 hour work week but I probably actively work 20-30 hours a week most weeks. We also have unlimited paid time off so I take 5-6 weeks off every year. I had to switch jobs A LOT to get here.
Higher education management. I go to the office when I feel like it and stay home when I feel like it. I make around $130K and work standard full time office hours so my work life balance is really good.
Engineering Manager at big tech company. I make $400k a year. I don’t know what life and balance are. Just work.
I work in healthcare and work remotely. About $110-$130K with bonuses. My work-life balance is now awesome, I usually take Friday afternoons off and work about ~6ish hours each day. Sometimes it gets more hectic than that. When I was building my career, I had zero work-life balance. I worked full-time while pursuing a PHD and raising a child. I have worked every major holiday more than once, as a salaried employee not hourly so I didn’t make any more money. Rarely took any time off etc. Now I am just very good at what I do and do it faster and more efficiently than most.
I work in management/strategy in tech. Some days are crazier than others, but I make it clear that nights/weekends are my own. So far, so good.
Work in tech. Always been remote: nearly 20 years. Sometimes it gets crazy, but generally, I get to shut off my "array" and put on my chef's hat by 6:30. Can't complain.
Director of analytics, strategy, pricing for manufacturing.
Balance is ebb and flow. Lots of clean laundry unfolded in baskets, dinner typically homemade, there to meet school bus I the afternoon but struggle to make time to do home work, daycare pick, make dinner all in the evening. Hubby works opposite way from daycare after taking a new job and is also working similar hours but has the added time requirement of a commute.
