How Does an Accountant Define Work/Life Balance?

Public Accounting firms all over the country are experiencing ultra-competitive recruitment challenges. As the Firm Administrator for a firm with offices in Williston and Rutland Vermont, I am always looking for an edge in our recruiting efforts – what are college grads and higher level accountants looking for in a work environment and what is most important to them?

I hear the same thing echoed at every career fair:

1) Compensation
2) Work/life balance

Each time I ask the question “What is work/life balance mean to you?” and more often than not it is answered with reluctance and uncertainty. Everyone wants balance but few can define it.

So, what does work/life balance mean?
One *source noted: “Being able to accomplish your professional and personal goals in a way that neither feels like one is suffering from the other.”
It’s important to note that balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various career and personal activities is completely unrealistic.

The ratio of work to life balance is different for everyone and it changes as the person’s life changes. For example, the balance for a college grad preparing for the CPA exam is going to look very different for the experienced CPA who manages the audit department and is also a wife and mother to young children.

At Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs we are very pleased to offer staff innovative and creative arrangements whenever it is logistically possible. We strive to help them work towards a healthy work balance for their particular life situation. Not only do we focus on recruiting great talent; we also want to retain it.

By Kathryn Diedrichsen, Firm Administrator, Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs.