Survey Says...

Here, question by question, are the results of the survey. Interestingly, the greatest disparities tended to occur between men and women: Women feel more pressure to deal with the stresses of work and life, and they tend to be more realistic about compromises that they need to make.

In general, are you achieving balance between your work and your personal life?

Yes: 60%
No: 33%
Not sure: 7%
These results cut across most categories, including gender and age.

"People who really want more balance between their work life and their personal life can get it -- if they are willing to make some trade-offs."

Agree: 87%
Disagree: 6%
Not sure: 6%

If money were not an issue, would you:

Work fewer or more-flexible hours than you do now?: 63%
Work the same number of hours as you do now?: 18%
Quit working?: 14%
Not sure: 4%

How much additional yearly income would you need in order to keep money from affecting your decisions about the type of work you do or the number of hours you work?

$10,000 or less: 10%
$10,000 to $20,000: 13%
$20,000 to $30,000: 16%
$30,000 to $40,000: 10%
$40,000 to $50,000: 21%
$50,000 to $60,000: 3%
$60,000 to $70,000: 3%
$70,000 to $80,000: 5%
$80,000 to $90,000: 1%
$90,000 to $100,000: 12%
$100,000 to $200,000: 3%
$200,000 to $300,000: 1%

How important to you is each of the following as a way of achieving balance in your life? (Percentages indicate how many people said "somewhat important" or "very important.")

Making personal life more of a priority: 91%
Making more money: 86%
Focusing on personal issues and on work at alternating periods in my life: 83%
Using the Internet and other technology: 83%
Learning to live on less money: 63%
Not obsessing about raises or promotions: 62%
Getting more help at home: 58%
Getting child care that I can trust: 52%
Passing up work projects that are too demanding: 52%
Working part-time or job-sharing: 46%
Giving up the idea of being a superstar at work: 41%

The responses to this question point up a significant gender difference among our respondents. For example, 67% of women indicated that "learning to live on less money" was "very important" or "somewhat important," compared with 60% of men; 66% of women selected "not obsessing about raises or promotions," compared with 58% of men; 68% of women picked "getting more help at home," compared with 49% of men; 59% of women chose "passing up work projects that are too demanding," compared with 47% of men; 57% of women selected "getting child care that I can trust," compared with 48% of men; 55% of women chose "working part-time or job-sharing," compared with 38% of men; and 43% of women said that they were ready to "[give] up the idea of being a superstar at work," compared with 38% of men.

If you could have one more hour per day at home or one of the following, which would you rather have:

A $10,000-a-year raise: 83%
One more hour per day at home: 17%
More challenging or more satisfying work: 41%
One more hour per day at home: 59%
More power or more prestige in your work organization: 32%
One more hour per day at home: 68%

It's 5 p.m., and your boss comes to you with a request from an important customer. The work will take at least five hours and is due the next morning. You are supposed to go to a long-planned dinner with the family of your spouse or significant other. Which is harder:

Telling your spouse or significant other that you can't make the dinner?: 38%
Asking your boss to find someone else to do the work?: 30%
Not sure/doesn't apply: 32%

How much responsibility does each of the following have for enabling people to balance their work life with their personal life? (Percentages indicate how many people selected "a lot" or "some" as their response.)

Themselves: 98%
Their family: 95%
Their spouse or significant other: 92%
Their company or organization: 89%
Their boss: 88%
Their coworkers: 55%
The government: 47%

The following are possible reasons why we hear so much talk about working people needing more balance in their lives. Indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement. (Percentages reflect how many people said that they "agree completely" or "agree somewhat" with each statement.)