Tech Notebook: Facebook, Agilent, Intuit praised for work-life balance

May 14--Is your employer making your life easier?

Even in this economy -- with pay cuts, layoffs and more to do for those who still have jobs -- employees are looking for companies that allow for work-life balance, according to a report this week from website Glassdoor.

Nationwide, according to a survey conducted for the Sausalito company by Harris Interactive, 54 percent of full- and part-time employees report good work-life balance, while 43 percent wish theirs was better.

Here in Silicon Valley -- based on Glassdoor's anonymous surveys of employees -- Palo Alto social-networking powerhouse Facebook has the highest work-life balance rating. Facebookers gave the company an average of 4.3 on a 5-point scale, and the company ranked seventh nationwide.

At Facebook, the "perks are outstanding," including "food, company events, laundry events, etc.," one employee reported. Another Facebooker praised "management focused on employee satisfaction" and "flexibility in work hours."

While tech upstarts such as Facebook have their legendary perks, two old-school Silicon Valley employers rank highly -- Agilent Technologies was No. 14 nationwide with a 4.2 rating, and Intuit (INTU) was No. 24 with a score of 4.0.

Employees

at Redwood City video game maker Electronic Arts (ERTS), though, say their work-life balance is slipping. EA had a 3.1 rating this year, a half-point drop from Glassdoor's 2010 survey. One EA worker complained of a "constant crunch." Another said "deadlines can be tight, and sometimes you have to work long hours."

Smartphone downturn: For the first time in two years, smartphone shipments dropped in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, industry researcher IHS iSuppli reported this week.

A notable exception among smartphone manufacturers, though, was Apple (AAPL). The Cupertino maker of "i" devices benefited from February's launch of an iPhone compatible with Verizon Wireless' CDMA network.

"Not only did this allow Apple to expand its target market and boost shipments, it also placed additional pressure on rival smartphone brands -- including Motorola, Samsung, LG and HTC -- that focus on Verizon Wireless as a major customer," IHS senior analyst Tina Teng noted in an email.

Apple had the best growth among the five biggest smartphone makers. Its global iPhone shipments reached 18.6 million, compared with 16.2 million in the previous quarter.

Nokia kept the No. 1 spot, but its shipment volume dropped 14.5 percent to 21.5 million. Apple was No. 2. In third place was BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which gained 4.2 percent to 10.5 million. Samsung and HTC were fourth and fifth.

As for the overall decline in shipments, IHS believes it was mostly caused by "inventory control efforts in the smartphone market, rather than weakening consumer demand," Teng said.

Frank Russell writes the 60-Second Business Break, posted weekdays by 2 p.m. at MercuryNews.com and SiliconValley.com. Contact him at 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.

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