And, apparently, consultants also are thrilled with unpaid time-off options. At Point B, which is ranked fourth in the work/life balance category, consultants are able to take as many unpaid vacation days as they like, often following the conclusion of projects. It is fitting, perhaps, that with options like this, Point B has come out of nowhere to leap onto the “Best Firms” ranking at number three, just below McKinsey & Company. Other firms within the top five, including Bain and BCG, also offer opportunities to take unpaid time off — often referred to as sabbaticals, or leaves of absence.

Individuals at several top firms are also excited about the option of taking time off from their offices by relocating to other offices. The firm that is most flexible in this regard is perhaps Monitor, which has a truly global P&L.
   
Rebecca Otto, a consultant at Monitor, told us, “I just transferred from Toronto to the San Francisco office, and I was actually very pleased and surprised by how easy it was to do that. Right away, they said, ‘Great. Pick an office, any office you want, and let us know when you want to move, and we’ll support you.’” This attention to individual requests is probably part of the reason why the vast majority (73 percent) of Monitorites told us that they feel their firm has a strong commitment to individual training for career development.
 
MMC and MOW, where 80 percent of consultants feel the same way, also facilitate this kind of transferring readily. In fact, Kauderer cites that at any given point in time, 25 to 30 percent of MOW consultants are working in a country that is not their home base. Bain and BCG both have some form of short-term and long-term relocation options, but seem to require a bit more effort — namely, a formal application process.
 
A few firms have also tipped the work/life balance by changing the standard amount of time consultants spend on the road. While some firms rave about flying consultants home or flying friends out to visit consultants on Thursdays — after four days away from home — a handful pride themselves on rarely flying their consultants out. The average consultant at Bain, which ranks first in this category, travels 1.18 days a week. At Monitor, which ranks third in this category, the average consultant travels 1.41 days out of the week. This is because the firm does not demand that consultants spend four days a week at the client, but rather expects them to travel only when it is deemed necessary — often this means one day a week, for meetings. This also means that clients can expect to pay less for overhead costs. Though this sounds generous, a newcomer to our ranking this year has even more enticing options.
 
We couldn’t possibly discuss low travel demands and low overhead without mentioning Point B. Due to its entirely local client base and virtual office setup, Point B has consultants who rarely leave their homes — and we do mean the places where they sleep. (Point B consultants all telecommute.) In fact, the average Point B consultant travels 0.55 days a week.
 
Laura Yurdin, a Point B consultant who recently grew into a marketing role in the firm, emphasizes that the model works best for people who have a life outside of work, which explains part of the reason why Point B consultants are so enthusiastic about their firm.
 
Perhaps Booz Allen Hamilton, a longtime frequenter of our ranking, would do well to take advice from this newcomer. This year, the firm has slipped off the list, and it seems that this is partly due to the fact that consultants aren’t as happy with the firm’s work/life balance. We should mention that Booz does continue to offer consultants excellent career development opportunities and a robust culture.