Women Don’t Want…Burnout

Written By Jessica Coleman

A survey came out in April from Deloitte Consulting that shows half of all working women are planning to quit their jobs within two years.  That is an astonishing number—and one I’m sure your organization wants to avoid.

In my last two posts, I described how you can reduce those numbers in your workforce by providing professional support, building a culture of belonging, and offering plentiful career development opportunities.  I also talked about certain at-risk categories (women of color, younger workers, and middle managers) and what additional steps might be taken to better retain those employees. 

But what we haven’t done yet is to look at why women are leaving.  (Instead, we’ve looked at why they might stay.)  According to the survey, the number one reason women plan to leave their jobs is burnout. 

Burnout is affecting both women and men in the workplace.  I wrote about this topic previously in my March 7th post, where I shared some ideas on how to prevent and counteract the effects of burnout.  I also recently saw an infographic that purported burnout is increasing, with 41% of workers feeling more burned out this year than last year.  Burnout is a very real phenomena that is having a very real impact on the American workforce.  (It is also thought to be a significant contributing factor to The Great Resignation…)

But, while both women and men can (and do) experience burnout, women are being affected by burnout more often and more intensely than men.  It’s not that they are more prone to burnout or less able to handle it; it’s that women have fewer supports – and often more obligations – than their male counterparts. 

So, what are you to do?

As an employer, the best thing you can do for your employees (women and men, but especially women) is to support them however you are able. 

  • Show them you care.  Do nice things.  Be kind and encourage kindness among your team.  If appropriate to your culture and your work relationship, ask what you can do for them.  (Then do it!)

  • Read my post from March 7th of this year.  It tells you what signs indicate burnout and share ideas for how to prevent and counteract it, for example:  allow for social support at work, create a more comfortable work environment, and remember to celebrate the little things. 

  • Provide mental-health days.  As an indirect measure of burnout, almost one-half of the women surveyed rated their mental health as “poor” or “very poor”.  One-half!  Poor mental health!  That’s really bad…  (To be fair, that’s not a clinical diagnosis, but it is a clear indication that burnout is impactful and needs to be addressed.  You’re people – especially your women – are hurting.)  Mental health days can give your workers a reset, a chance to get away for the day and relax, recharge, or just catch up on things where they feel behind in the rest of their lives. (In case you’re curious, I’ve attached a link below to an article that shares some of the ways people spend their mental-health days.)  Employees want and will use mental-health days.  In fact, they’re already taking them…  One-third of women in the survey said they’d taken time off from work for their mental health.

As an employee, check out this article about how you can take steps to mitigate the impacts of burnout on you.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/well/workplace-burnout-advice.html

  • Self-care. Treat yourself kindly. Focus on what is good in your life. Do more of what you love. You can’t be your best unless you take care of yourself.

  • Take breaks. Step away from a minute or a day. Think about taking a vacation (even if you don’t go anywhere). Just get away from the situation for a bit. If you can’t do that, meditate or practice mindfulness where you focus on being in the moment (and not worrying about what needs to get done).

  • Reassess your time. Consider all the things you do (and try to do). Which ones are really priorities? What can you delegate to someone else? Which might you be able to just let go (even if they won’t get done)? Are there areas where you can do less and have that be good enough? (If you’re a brain surgeon, please don’t do less during surgery. But maybe you don’t need to cook multiple-course meals for your family four days a week.)

  • Ask for help. You don’t have to do it all on your own. (You shouldn’t!)

 

Sources:

Jessica Coleman
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