It’s always gratifying to read about a situation you predicted more than 4 years ago. It is also frustrating to realize not much has changed.
When I wrote Can You Afford to Ignore Me? one of the issues I pointed out is that women and millennial men and women entering the work force have always looked at work beyond compensation. And, one of the contributing factors to cause them to walk away from their job was burnout, which implies a feeling of not seeing a future for themselves at their job based on the expectations and conditions associated with a 24/7 connectivity.
Many managers interpret this as laziness or lack of commitment, when in fact it is more about a desire to create a balanced life so they can contribute effectively to the workforce.
The data related to engagement in the US is clear – only 3 out of 10 employees are engaged at work. This impacts productivity, innovation and long term commitment to the organizations.
A recent article published in Fast Company magazine shows the following research: The trend of young women burning out by the age of 30 is very real and unfortunately common. A study by McKinsey shows that women account for 53 % of corporate entrylevel jobs, but women only hold 37 % of mid-management roles. That number drops to 26 % for vice presidents and senior managers, indicating a major gender disparity higher up the corporate ladder. As only 11 % of women choose to leave the workplace permanently to have children, another reason for this gap can be traced to high expectations companies place on employees in always-connected work environments.
If you read closely, you see women DO NOT leave work due to family issues or parenting interests, they move or go into other business options because they are feeling a high degree of demand on their time, all the while, looking at layoffs and downsizing. The natural response is… Why am I doing this? I’m giving all of my time and how do I know if my efforts will be appreciated?
The same is true with millennials. Here you have a great quote that sums this scenario in a very insightful way; Melanie Shreffler formerly at Ypulse (currently the Senior Editorial Director, Cassandra Report) tells Forbes, “You can’t see the end of the tunnel because there are so many twists and turns. It’s impossible to see what life will be like in 20 years these days. It’s hard to look just three to four years in the future. They don’t know what they are striving for, which makes it really hard to move forward.”
We are transitioning into a new work style, and I think it’s more human and yields higher returns…Can you afford to ignore this?
By C. Dennehy