Working women more likely to quit due to poor work-life balance: LinkedIn

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended office life and women are more likely to shoulder responsibilities at home. There is a glaring disparity in the perception of men and women towards how they are being compensated by their current employers, according to a study by social media platform LinkedIn.

Working women (37 per cent) are 1.3x more likely to quit their current job due to poor work-life balance when compared to working men (28 per cent). The research also says that women are more likely (49 per cent) to remain with their current employer if they get better pay as compared to men (39 per cent).

The LinkedIn study is based on the responses of 1,111 professionals in India. 

The study highlights a gender imbalance for hires made in 2021. Out of the 15 fastest-growing jobs, men constituted at least 70 per cent of hires for IT roles such as site reliability engineer (79 per cent), machine learning engineer (78 per cent); and marketing & advertising roles (68 per cent) and media buyer (67 per cent). More women were hired as wellness specialists (54 per cent), user experience researchers (60 per cent), recruitment associates (68 per cent), and strategy associates (60 per cent). 
 

Even though the hiring space outlook seems grim for women, 82 per cent of the professionals are considering changing their jobs in 2022, highlighting the overall optimism of the Indian workforce about the future of work. The job reshuffling largely comprised of freshers with up to one year of work experience (94 per cent) and Gen Z professionals (87 per cent). 

The survey shows that professionals leaving their current jobs are due to poor work-life balance (30 per cent), not enough money (28 per cent), or greater career ambitions (23 per cent). Respondents also said that better pay (42 per cent), more appreciation (36 per cent), and improved work-life balance (34 per cent), can convince them to stay.

The study finds that 86 per cent of professionals say they are confident about the strength of their professional networks. However, the study also argues that despite this confidence, there exists an emotional ambivalence amongst Indian professionals as 7 out of 10 question their abilities at work more now than before the pandemic.

 

"This self-doubt seems to be a byproduct of working in isolation for nearly two years as 33 per cent of professionals say the pandemic has negatively impacted their confidence at work," the study points out.

Further, a lack of face-to-face support from supervisors and peers (40 per cent), new responsibilities (34 per cent), and more technology (31 per cent) are the top three work stressors for professionals in India.