More job satisfaction, organizational dedication, more meaningful work, and less burnout.
Women today are walking out of jobs if it’s not enjoyable, doesn’t fit into the other areas of their lives or if they are not getting enough opportunities to make a difference; while at the same time, they stay with their current employer if all of the above criteria are met.
In today’s date and time, women are not just working to earn better or have a more stable financial situation for their family, but also to grow in life, to be empowered and be self-dependent. They are working for a calling – that resonates and appeals to them and not just to have a 9 to 5pm routine. The calling here refers to meaningful work that connects to their core values, purpose, and work-life balance.
Women want a job that matters, that brings about their potential and enhances their capabilities. Female employees are demanding more work and are just as ambitious as men are with the desire for equal financial gains.
Worldwide women leaders are switching jobs at higher rates than men as they feel the headwinds in advancing in their current organizations. Although it has been proven time and again that gender-diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams, Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on boards financially outperform companies with the lowest representation of women on boards and that gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units, it is still hard for women to advance in their careers or organizations due to gender bias.
Gender bias exists world-wide even though much has been done to raise awareness towards women empowerment. Women still experience belittling micro-aggressions in their organizations. Micro-aggressions appear in three forms – micro-assault, microinsult, and microinvalidation – where their judgements are either often questioned or they are often mistaken to be sub-ordinates. Even though women are a great support to the organization’s talent pool and get the best out of their teams, they are often unrecognized or unrewarded for their efforts.
Workplace Wellbeing is a top priority for all women. If companies, to this very day, don’t prioritize flexibility, employee well-being, diversity, equity, and inclusion, they are at the risk of losing not only their current women leaders but also the next generation of women leaders.
Women today in in the coming future will want jobs that they feel drawn to pursue, that they find intrinsic value in, which they see as an integral part of their self-worth or identity, and where there is job satisfaction. Women choose workplaces not only because of a necessity but because of a sense of achievement in what they are bringing to the table.
While perks and benefits are equally important, flexibility goes a long way in retaining female employees. If an organization wants to retain talented women who also want to raise families – flexible timings, work from home, paid time off and health benefits can add hugely to job satisfaction. Yet, surprisingly so, research shows that women are far less likely to get as much flexibility as men do at their workplaces.
Last but not the least, give them real leadership opportunities to show their worth. Women usually get offered positions when there is a crisis or where there are higher chances of failure. On the other hand, women usually look for leadership opportunities but usually turn them down either because they are not confident of taking it up or more likely decline if they feel they will not get the necessary support they need. To be precise, give them opportunities where they are likely to succeed or a challenge that they truly enjoy.