Lack of Flexibility, Burnout: Survey on What's Pushing Women Out of Workforce

Lack of flexible working hours and burnout are pushing a significant number of women employees from around the world to exit workforce, revealed Deloitte's 'Women@Work 2022' survey.

The report is based on a survey, conducted between November 2021 and February 2022, of 5,000 women from 10 countries, including 500 from India.

According to the report, at least 56 percent of women say that their stress levels were higher than the previous year. Almost half of them stated that they were experiencing burnout.

Burnout was also a top reason forcing women to quit, with nearly 40 percent stating that they were actively looking for a new employer. Only 9 percent said that they would stay with their current employer for more than five years.

Hybrid Work Model Leading to Burnout?

The report also added that around 60 percent of women who work in hybrid work environments feel they have been excluded from important meetings.

"While the hybrid model has been touted as a best-of-both-worlds scenario, giving people the comfort of working from home and the connectedness of working from the office, the survey tells us that women professionals seem to be facing the disadvantages of both instead, with year-on-year increases in caregiving responsibilities and stress levels, as well as a higher likelihood of experiencing microaggressions during hybrid working."

Mohinish Sinha, Deloitte India partner and diversity, equity, and inclusion, said in a statement

Women Who Disappeared From Workforce

Only 24 percent of non-inclusive behaviour by colleagues were reported to employers, the survey revealed. It added that women who belong to minority groups in their countries, LGBT+ women and those in lower management are more likely to experience these behaviour.

Data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private research firm in Mumbai, said that more than half of the 900 million Indians of legal working age don’t want a job.

About 21 million women disappeared from the workforce, between 2017 and 2022, leaving just 9 percent population either employed or looking for positions, according to the CMIE. During this period, India's overall Labour Participation Rate fell from 46 percent to 40 percent.

Though women represent 49 percent of India’s population, women contribute only 18 percent of its economic output, about half the global average, the report added.