Congressional staff unhappy with work-life flexibility

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.