What type of work environment would you prefer? Of course, this question makes you think hard about so many things. The famous “100 best companies to work for” ranking comprehensively took into consideration many factors from the company’s growth rate, compensation level, benefits and perks, and work-life balance to how much each employee’s contribution to the company’s growth is acknowledged within its culture.

Yet, this “comprehensive” evaluation is a hard line to walk [1]. Better financial performance is necessary for corporate entities to compensate their employees and create opportunities for promotion. In the meantime, faster growth can translate into more workload, tipping the scale against a balanced lifestyle. That is, as the former improves, the latter likely worsens because of the trade-off. In fact, untangling these factors might explain the recent attempt to form an Amazon union for the first time during the company’s rapid growth amidst COVID.

Every employee is at a different stage of their life. Some may value family time, while others going through different phases might prefer some alone time. Yet others work painstakingly hard, sacrificing work-life balance for their achievements. Likewise, one’s ideal work environment reflects these different preferences, complicating the “comprehensive” evaluation of different work environments.

What kind of work environment would you prefer?