Getting a job with the best work-life balance may seem like a dream, but it’s possible. Choosing this kind of career path allows you the flexibility to manage your own time. This means you get to prioritise things that matter to you when needed.
The best part is that there’s an opportunity to work in any industry. In this article, you’ll discover the different occupations you can apply for with a schedule that suits you.
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Why is work-life balance important?
When you’re time-poor and constantly chasing after a schedule, it’s a sign you need a better work-life balance. Regardless of what you want to prioritise, the importance of work-life balance is that you decrease mental strain and chronic stress from demanding jobs.
The pressures of tight deadlines and excess work can take a toll on your physical and mental health, potentially affecting your personal and professional relationships—even your quality of life. Having a job that allows you to have flexible working arrangements can help you in many ways.
Some of the benefits of work-life balance include: being more present for events with loved ones, pursuing more personal projects that interest you, and tackling work with a clearer headspace with reduced stress.
Considering that about 13% of full-time employees in Australia work long hours compared to the OECD average of 10%, it’s doubly important that your company has a work-life balance policy. It should ensure that the business, employees, and customers are considered when setting the process.
13 Airtasker jobs with the best work-life balance
Sometimes finding the best job for work-life balance means offering your expertise to individuals as a freelancer. This doesn’t always mean you must immediately be a pro, either. With enough research, maybe an online course or two, and a little experience, you can find the kind of work you know you’ll enjoy doing.
This list of jobs allows you to create balanced working hours within a time that works for you.
1. Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing focuses on driving traffic to a business’s page or website through paid ads that show up to a user who searches for relevant keywords. This makes the job one of the most in-demand specialties across all industries, regardless of the business size. It’s also fairly easy to take on a job like this and be able to request remote work.
As a search engine marketer, you’ll perform keyword research, write compelling copy, and bid on pricing for the ads you run. You can find courses online to start your career if you’d like to explore a marketing job.
2. Financial Planning
Financial planners can speak with many unique clients, all with varied backgrounds. Your role would be to help guide people, businesses, or organizations to meet their financial goals — such as investments, taxes, and pensions. This means considering all the different factors that come into play with your client’s current situation.
Considering that the job can deal with many complex situations, financial planners can earn as much as $400 an hour or up to $3,000 for flat fees. To become a financial advisor, you’ll need a Bachelor’s Degree, on-the-job training, and, depending on your location, a license or certification.
3. Legal Services
Whether you’re just starting out in the field of law or are a seasoned professional, you can provide several legal services, given your level of expertise. Tasks can range from bookkeeping to auditing and legal advice. In a career like this, you need to have proper time management to spend time and set boundaries with each of your clients.
4. Research Assistant
There are many types of research assistants. The specialty can vary significantly by industry, ranging from managing data to thorough competitor research and admin work.
The amount you earn as a research assistant will also depend on the type of job and field you’re hired for. Some assistants may need credentials such as a degree in business or education.
5. App Development
Interested in creating apps? Being an app developer doesn’t necessarily restrict you to just coding. You can also play a part in other stages of building an app, like designing, troubleshooting, and providing security support.
A background in software engineering, computer science, UX design, and programming is usually needed to become an app developer. If you’re interested in starting a career in app development, online resources like Coding Dojo can help get you started.
6. Design
Design is perhaps one of the broadest fields you can look into. Businesses and organisations of every kind will always need some design work. It all depends on your area of interest and expertise. As a designer, you can earn up to $20,000 by offering web design services.
Eager to explore the world of design but don’t know where to start? Check out this guide to becoming a graphic designer for a better idea of how to make it happen.
7. Music Production
Music production is the art of capturing sound with creative and technical skills. As a music producer, you’ll be responsible for arranging melody, lyrics, and instruments together while ensuring that the recording process down to mastering goes smoothly.
Interested in producing music? You can find resources online like Udemy or Coursera to kickstart your career.
8. Product Testing
Product testing is the final stage of developing a product before launching it to a business’s identified market. It can often be closely connected to app development, where you test an app or its website to see how well it works for you as a user.
Different kinds of businesses look for product testers. There may be specific backgrounds needed to test the products, and it will vary per client, as each will have their own set criteria for their product’s purpose.
9. Gardening
Have a green thumb? Gardening might be right up your alley. As a gardener, you’ll be able to work in the company of nature, either lawn mowing, planting, or trimming hedges. It’s also a lucrative job; you can earn an average of $95 per hour or even $500 for complex tasks. Plus, it’s super relaxing!
10. Fitness Instructor
Do you love working out and guiding others through a workout as well? You may be the perfect fit as a fitness instructor, where you can teach classes and earn doing something you genuinely enjoy. Yoga instructors, for example, can earn up to $600 per month.
To become a fitness instructor, you must have at least a high school diploma, a degree in physical education, and professional certification.
11. Delivery
If you’re looking for work requiring minimal skill, then you might like the job of delivery assistance. People always need help transporting things from one place to another, whether it’s sending a gift to a friend or wanting their groceries picked up. If your service area is close by, you may be able to get by with a bicycle. Otherwise, a car would be the only requirement for long-distance transportation.
12. House Cleaning
Some people find joy in cleaning and decluttering homes. If you’re interested in this job, you may want to explore house cleaning. You can offer manageable services in this job—including full apartment cleaning, single furniture cleaning, or even oven cleaning. You’ll be paid well, and you could earn anywhere from $60 to $450 for your cleaning services.
13. Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping is a market research strategy to gauge customer experience at a store. Mystery shoppers speak to different people in the shop to evaluate how well a company treats its customers. There are no requirements to do this job. You may even enjoy it if you like acting as well!
Start finding a job that you love and get paid well
Don’t take your mental and physical health for granted! Get jobs that allow you to work flexible hours and make use of any available vacation time you have so you’re always feeling fresh and well-rested at work.
Whether you’re looking for a part-time gig or exploring a new career path there might be something in this list that’s the right fit for you. Finding a job with the best work-life balance is achievable. Become a Tasker to kickstart a better career.
Frequently Asked Questions
What job has the best work-life balance?
Marketing, research, and web design are often identified as jobs with good work-life balance. This answer could, however, vary entirely on the boundaries you’ve set with your clients or employer.
Ultimately, a job with the best work-life balance has a fixed working time that doesn’t let you take the stress of your job home—all this while being paid well.
Which job is the least stressful?
CareerCast’s 2019 study on least stressful jobs found that medical sonographers, compliance officers, hair stylists, audiologists, and university professors have minimal stress in their work.
What jobs make people the happiest?
According to the Australian Careers Service, some of the happiest jobs in the world include marketing, recruiting, graduate teaching assistance, and net development.
