But a company which does value employee contributions and invests in their development make become a more pleasant place to work when it offers employees perks like flex time, work from home, access to fitness centers in addition to fair compensation and benefits.

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For example, a large-scale survey conducted in Canada found that as work hours increased and flex-time arrangements became rarer over the last two decades, the percentage of respondents who rated themselves as highly satisfied with their lives plunged by 50% over the same period.

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Based on their parenting roles, some female business chiefs have sought to ease staffers' work-family conflicts by introducing perquisites such as "flex-time" and sick-child facilities.

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As a single young professional in my 20s at Merrill Lynch, I never considered reviewing the policies that would affect my work-life balance, such as parental leave, flex time, telecommuting policies, or retirement benefits.

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Gates negotiated flex-time before there was a word for it and pursued project work that she could complete in her own time and on her own terms.

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