Over 4 out of 10 IT full-time professionals report experiencing burnout (we highlight that they report it because some professionals prefer quitting their jobs or not sharing they’re fatigued rather than admitting it). Since 18% of workers say they’d switch jobs to balance their work and personal lives, tech workers and potential tech workers might wonder if software engineer jobs with good pay don't come at a high cost.

It’s a legitimate concern. It's typical to associate the fast-paced rhythm of the tech industry with a generally poor work-life balance. But, the truth is that tech can be both rewarding and challenging when it comes to work-life balance. The industry isn't one-size-fits-all. Some well-established companies such as Google can provide their employees with a healthy work environment, while small startups, often self-funded, might require employees to work extra hard to succeed. There are plenty of cushy tech jobs out there, but it's where you look that matters the most.

What is work-life balance, and why is it so important?

Work-life balance can be defined as a personal and conscious administration of one of the human beings’ most limited and valuable assets: time. How we arrange and distribute our scarce time between work duties and personal interests and needs (emotional ties, family, hobbies, sports, training, etc.) is basically work-life balance. This issue is so prominent that it has inspired stories of men having their essence stripped away because of the pressure of their jobs.

While a healthy work-life balance strongly depends on your company’s culture, it also relies on your own ability to organise and create a schedule that allows you to tap into your potential in both your professional and personal life. For tech workers, this can mean:

• Reduced stress and improved mental health: A healthy work-life balance allows you to recharge and come back to work feeling refreshed and focused.
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• Greater personal fulfilment: Having time for hobbies, social interaction, and personal growth activities contributes to happiness and a sense of fulfilment outside of work.
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• Stronger work-life integration: Finding a balance allows you to bring your best self to work. Reduced stress and a healthy personal life can lead to increased productivity and creativity at work.
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• Easier to job hop: Tech workers who are coasting their jobs and aren’t desperate to leave will have an easier time seeking their next opportunity because getting a “No” won’t be a big deal.

Is IT work-life balance getting better or worse?

Some testimonials are claiming that burnout is getting worse and that, with that, work-life balance in tech is worse than before the pandemic.

Take these reports commissioned after the pandemic. According to a survey of more than 30,000 tech professionals across 33 countries, 42% of the workers surveyed show a high risk of burnout, and almost 7 out of 10 women claimed they couldn’t cool off after their shift finished. A different report shows that 61% of remote workers find it more difficult to “unplug” from work than before. This goes against the flawed assumption that going remote automatically endows workers with a glorious work-life balance.

This Reddit comment reflects the hectic scenario from a 12-year tech industry worker perspective:

"When I started back in 2012, I remember the situation was not like this. People valued work-life balance. People valued that the employees have a life too outside their work. (...). Today, the situation is everywhere working at 8 pm is pretty normal and people would expect you to be working at even 11 pm too. And actually, people boast about it. They get promoted for working late, creating pressure on others. If someone is completing their work timely and maintaining good work and life, they are called underperformers."

It’s easy to get the point. The hustle culture got so hip that LinkedIn launched its own “stories” feature so that people could show off their long office hours. 

But some tech workers don’t agree that the hustle culture and the lack of work-life balance are built-in into the tech sector. This statement summarises it:

"I’ve been in the tech industry for 25 years, and I’m confident that work-life balance isn’t connected to the industry as much as the company and department that you work in. Balance has been steadily getting better for me because I prioritise it over chasing huge salaries."

The main takeaway from the replies is that to get a clear picture of work-life balance in IT, we need to consider multiple factors, such as the type of company and department position, the company’s culture, salary, amount of experience, and personal determination. One way to do this is to group the companies and see if there’s a pattern.

Work-life balance in startups vs scale-ups vs FAANG+

Work-life balance is different in each tech subgroup. And even in those subgroups, workers have varying opinions. So, this is not the case if you are expecting a black-or-white answer. The debate is usually settled in the greys. Let’s have a look at them.

Startups 🚀

Startups are focused on developing products or services that will shake up the market and, ultimately, will make them grow fast. The fake-it-till-you-make-it thrills are typical.

These defining characteristics often lead to a poor work-life balance. Being part of a startup can be very exciting, yes, but the other side of the coin is working long extra hours late at night and at weekends. The combination of few employees and many tasks to attend to, a work culture shaped by an enthusiastic leader who is 100% focused on his project, and a lack of stability and unpredictability may be a double-edged sword.

However, this is not an infallible rule. As some surveys demonstrate, over 60% of employees are happy at startups, surpassing the number of satisfied workers in FAANG (according to the same survey). In addition, it seems quite obvious that not all startups have a toxic work-life balance, as this Reddit comment puts it:

People say startups are usually fast-paced and make you work long hours, but that’s not true of all startups. Some have super healthy work-life balances and sane management. There are plenty that will be happy with a regular 35–40 hour work week.

If you are fond of your job, motivated by the challenge, and wagering for a future crucial spot at the company—with the amount of money this brings—maybe some overtime working is not too worrying. Consider that startups generally attract younger workers and career-oriented individuals, so if the culture is right, people are willing to spend a lot of time without much complaint.

Scaleups 📈

Work-life balance at a scaleup is only a little better than at a startup.

A scaleup is a startup that has already experienced revenue growth—as unbelievable as it seems, many startups receive funding before even offering revenue, not to mention net profit—and that has likely gone through a Series B or Series C funding. Scaleups are often at least 5 years old and have a healthy cash runway, meaning they can hire and offer good salaries and competitive compensation packages with money that does not come from their net gains. Theoretically, this should mean software engineers will find more job opportunities at a scaleup than at a bootstrapped company.

In addition, scaleups can frequently open senior positions because they have more money to spend and scrutiny from investors, which usually entails that they go out to hire external—as in, that didn’t participate in the company’s early days—professionals. So, a software engineer who enters a scaleup “late into the game,” at least compared to the first five employees, can still land a core position with excellent pay. Of course, this doesn’t mean this new hire will be popular among the long-time staff.

To find out what work-life balance in a scaleup is, we intentionally steered away from Silicon Valley because we didn’t want our results skewed by the AI craze taking place over there. So, from evaluating employee testimonials from 10 high-profile German scaleups, it seems work-life balance in tech scaleups is only slightly better than in a startup. 

We checked the “work-life balance” review section on Glassdoor for these ten companies, and the average score for that category was 3.5 out of five stars, with only one company reaching the 4.0 mark. Comparing this score against a startup is tricky because startups have far fewer reviews, and thus, their average is usually on the opposite end of the scale. So the best comparison against startups can be obtained from what employees say.

Employees at scaleups often report mixed experiences regarding work-life balance. Positive aspects include having good colleagues and enjoying a degree of flexibility. However, the workload can be demanding and may exceed regular working hours. Additionally, while some scaleups may have established leadership structures, others might face growing pains with less experienced leadership teams. This can lead to concerns about favouritism and limited opportunities for mentorship.

Both startup and scaleup environments are frequently fast-paced and require a high level of dedication. However, scaleups, with established funding and a more structured environment, can provide a clearer path towards career progression compared to the earlier, more uncertain stages of a startup.

FAANG+ 💰

Concerning FAANG+ companies, work-life balance is generally healthier compared to startups and scaleups, although there are better companies than others. However, finding work-life balance in FAANG+ companies is a complex issue with no single answer. While some online sources might portray a mostly demanding environment across all FAANG+ companies, the reality is more nuanced.

These are the main factors at play:

• Company culture: Certain FAANG+ companies prioritise a fast-paced, collaborative environment, which can sometimes lead to longer working hours. Others emphasise work-life balance and offer flexible arrangements.
• Role and team dynamics: Some roles or teams within a company might have more demanding schedules than others.
• Individual preferences: What constitutes a good work-life balance is subjective. Some employees do well in a high-pressure environment, while others prefer a more structured schedule.

For the last decade, FAANG companies such as Google and Spotify have been cruising with some of the best pay and benefits. As they are well-established and have steady revenue, these types of businesses can offer generous compensation packages, benefits like flexible work schedules or on-site amenities, and the potential for interesting, challenging work that can significantly contribute to a positive work-life experience.

On the other end of the spectrum, FAANG employees are sometimes frustrated by super boring routines that involve doing nothing. They don’t work a great deal, but they don’t like it either. Interviews with former Meta employees explicitly mention this situation.

Meanwhile, employees point out that a lack of visibility—“you’re just another number in a database”—and the constant possibility of being fired and easily replaced are issues that somewhat crawl into their work-life balance (maybe making them anxious after their shift ends). Recent and continuing massive layoffs in Big Tech prove this fear is valid.

In any case, these are only a couple of arguments pulled from employee’s comments and surveys. It would be a big mistake to generalise. Many people find stability and a desirable work-life balance in FAANG+. The answer depends on how each tech company is run. Amazon is not the same as Google, Google differs from Meta, and Meta differs from Netflix.

Being happy at your job and having a good work-life balance are not synonyms, but it’s safe to assume the Netflix crowd would have claimed they had a good balance, even if they were working long hours. A 2022 survey by Stack Overflow found that developers are happy at work for three main reasons: having good compensation (60%), having a good work-life balance (58%), and being allowed flexibility (52%).

Other companies that don’t fall into this group

Many tech employees claim that well-established tech giants that are not FAANG have good work-life balances. Online testimonials mention Lyft, Nvidia, Salesforce, LinkedIn, and even Microsoft as places with excellent work-life balance.

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Technology and work-life balance: other comparison terms

There are other measurement sticks to think about when comparing and defining IT work-life balance. The trimodal division of the software engineers’ compensation market is an interesting way to compare them. This division is based on three major fluctuations in Europe’s software engineer salaries, with three separate groups of companies that “spike” with very little overlap.

Originally designed to explain compensation differences, this model can also shed light on work-life balance comparisons. According to experts behind the model, tier #1 roles in local-only companies typically offer significantly better work-life balance. These roles, often found in tech teams at non-tech companies, prioritise local market conditions over industry-wide salary benchmarks. For instance, IT teams at local supermarkets might not adjust their salaries to match those offered by pharmaceutical companies, but in return, they enjoy excellent work-life balance.

In contrast, tiers #2 and #3 often result in poorer work-life balance. Companies in these categories, driven by fast-paced environments and the promise of higher wages, tend to intensify competition and demand peak performance from their employees. While many #2 companies operate within a single time zone, allowing employees to disconnect at specified hours, #3 global organizations are connected to multiple locations across different time zones.

Still, keep in mind that while established companies often offer high pay and good work-life balance, senior roles on average may have the best work-life balance arrangements. However, it's also plausible that the top 5% of earners may be working exceptionally hard.

Is tech work-life balance in Europe better than in the US?

When comparing tech work-life balance between Europe and the US, it's common knowledge that European countries prioritise work-life balance in comparison to the United States. This is reflected in aspects such as holidays, sick leave, and overall cultural norms. Salaries in Europe may be lower, but the emphasis on work-life balance is deeply rooted in European society at large.

Let’s have a look at some key factors that make the difference:

• Working hours: While the average difference in working hours per week is small (37.5 in Europe vs. 38.9 in the US), legal limits and cultural norms play a role. The EU has a maximum working week of 48 hours, while the US has no federal limit. Additionally, the US has a more established overtime culture.
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• Paid time off: The US has no federal mandate for paid time off, whereas the EU guarantees a minimum of 4 weeks of paid annual leave plus public holidays. European countries often offer more, with some exceeding 30 days of holiday.
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• Other labour rights: European countries typically offer stronger job security measures, severance packages, and higher minimum wages compared to the US. Additionally, many European countries have universal healthcare systems and generous parental leave policies.

However, don't assume all European companies offer stellar work-life balance, and that Europe is a one-dimensional region. It’s not the same working in Zürich as in the Basque Country. At the same time, some US companies prioritise employee well-being with more emphasis than others, and it’s not the same working in Boise as in the Bay Area. So, of course, “it depends.” But, generally and very accurately speaking, work-life balance for tech workers—and for any worker—is substantially better in Europe than in the United States.

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Work-life balance at tech jobs in non-tech companies

The tier #1 of the trimodal model hinted at a possibility—will tech workers at non-tech companies enjoy a better work-life balance than their FAANG counterparts? That’s the case. Software engineers working in non-tech companies (like healthcare or pharma—not necessarily a supermarket business) enjoy clearly defined working hours, a higher level of job security, and a more satisfactory work-life balance. In some cases, giving up exorbitant wages provides you with other benefits:

"I’m a software engineer at a non-tech company. Can confirm that my job security, along with my benefits and work-life balance, is insane. Pay may not be big tech money, but life is pretty freaking awesome with not a single worry about layoffs."

How expectations relate to work-life balance in IT

Work-life balance is usually self-reported. An employee answers a survey, and they tell if they’re burnt out and if their balance is good or bad. It’s not a metric collected by a third party—it’s a metric dependent on the worker’s answer. And their answer will match their expectations of how their work-life balance should be.

Take startups and founders. Founders are ready to put in twelve hours a day without a blinking eye because they’re betting on their long-term success, and working long hours is simply an investment. Startup employees are likely to put in plenty of hours as well—and, as we already mentioned, they might still claim they’re happy at work. So even if, by measurable metrics, they have a substandard work-life balance because they’re spending more time at the office, they’ll likely report they have a good work-life balance or that they don’t care if their balance is off. Since they always expected to put in a great effort, they do not see their situation as dire (it is short-term).

The difference between expectations and how things go down is clearly seen in scaleup employee reviews. It’d be safe to assume that scaleup workers put in the same or fewer hours than startup workers. But since they probably want to work less than the founding team—since they don’t count with the same privileges as them, such as in-house clout—and still work a lot, they usually claim the work-life balance is average (our own assessment threw out that they usually consider it to be 3.5 stars, or just above okay).

Work-life balance in IT, then, tends to be a problem when it does not match expectations. When it’s as good or as bad as expected, employees still report being satisfied at work or aren’t concerned about lacking a balance.

Work-life balance in remote jobs vs office jobs

Another example of the influence of expectations when it comes to work-life balance is remote work. It’s safe to assume that a worker who expected to work 5 days a week from home and suddenly is requested to go back to the office will claim that they don’t have a good work-life balance. They’re probably right to complain, since they had already streamlined their lives to work around a remote schedule that was rapidly upended. But if the worker expected to go to the office every day and liked it, they’ll most likely won’t complain about such a dreadful lack of balance.

This lines up with recent findings. When surveyed by Stack Overflow about what makes them happy at work, over 50% of tech workers mentioned flexibility as a top reason, right behind payment and work-life balance. These factors are all connected, and it’s safe to assume that a flexible working schedule will trickle down into a good work-life balance. 45% of developers say that their ideal work environment is at home, and 27% say it’s in an office building. So who gets the best work-life balance? It depends on what they wanted in the first place. Still, by running these findings against the inability to switch off that many remote workers report, it seems that hybrid workers who were expecting to work sometimes at home and sometimes at the office will feel they have the best work-life balance.

Does tech have the best work-life balance?

Tech workers who don’t work in the tech sector have one of the best work-life balances for a white-collar job. For the tech sector—it depends. Some sectors, like FAANG or startups, typically don’t have a good work-life balance. But with most developers claiming they are happy at their jobs, then it doesn’t seem as much of an issue.

When employees were asked what made them happy, they answered that compensation came first and work-life balance was a close second. Working as a software engineer in a non-tech company combines excellent pay—consider tier #2 of the trimodal hypothesis—with the work-life balance of a well-structured, stable company. If considered from this perspective, being a software engineer is an excellent job.

Land a job as a software engineer in Europe

Does the tech industry, or at least tech workers, have the best work-life balance overall, out of any job? Obviously, this depends on what you compare tech with. In some cultures, workers in consulting firms have a poor balance, but in other markets, they tend to work less assiduously except at the end of the financial year. Lawyers working in law firms, in some markets, spend hours at night in their offices, but lawyers involved in startups—contradictory as it may sound—might put a few hours into contracts, and that’s it.

Unsurprisingly, the same happens in tech. There are many categories and many ways of working in tech. What is clear is that it’s an excellent career path, all things considered. And European developers seem to have the edge when it comes to work-life balance.

If you are interested in getting a job as a developer and matching with European companies, you’re in the right spot. At WeAreDevelopers, we’re dedicated to helping software engineers find jobs at top European companies. Join us to learn about our job listings, check our job board for the latest available opportunities, and land a job that pays well and offers a good work-life balance.