Although U.S. House and Senate staff members find a balance between work and life valuable, 26 percent say they are content with the flexibility given to them, according to Life in Congress: Aligning Work and Life in the U.S. House and Senate, a research report released by the Congressional Management Foundation and the Society for Human Resource Management.

However, in a separate SHRM survey, 33 percent of those in the private sector say they are happy with their work-life balance. Fifty-five percent of congressional respondents believe work-life flexibility is very important as opposed to 38 percent of private-sector respondents. Congressional respondents are made up of 55 percent Democrats and 43 percent Republicans. Seventy-two percent of these respondents are employed in the House of Representatives while 28 percent work in the Senate.

"We've seen in the private sector that workplace flexibility not only improves employee satisfaction but it reduces staff turnover and increases productivity," says Lisa Horn, co-project director of SHRM's workplace flexibility initiative. "Like their counterparts in the private sector, Capitol Hill staff members value flexible work options. Congressional staff — and Congress itself — would benefit from access to flexible workplace practices, including flex time, telecommuting and more choices about how they manage their time."