How burnout is impacting women’s finances now, more than ever
We’re living in an ever-rapidly shifting economy, and no one is having it easy. But according to a recent study, women in corporate might be having it harder than anyone else.
It’s said that a woman works two jobs; the 9-5 and the household. She leaves work exhausted only to come back home to a pile of dirty laundry waiting for her to tend to, and yet she is expected to report to work on time the following day well rested and ready for work. It
A 2022 report from Lean In and McKinsey & Company revealed that women in corporate are even more burned out now than they were in 2020, and burnout is escalating faster among women than men.
The report stated, “One in three women says that they have considered downshifting their career or leaving the workforce this year, compared with one in four who said this a few months into the pandemic. Additionally, four in ten women have considered leaving their company or switching jobs—and high employee turnover in recent months suggests that many of them are following through.”
These statistics have significant ramifications for women: among them, financial. The financial costs of career burnout can be quite hefty but most women seem to be dreadfully taking up the responsibility. The decision to downshift, step away, or switch jobs is rarely easy and involves considerable thought.
Also read: 5 ways anxiety can sabotage your work performance; and how to overcome
Regarding retirement savings and growth, when a woman steps away from work (or downshifts to something less than full-time), she’s sacrificing a stream of income (or a portion of that income) and eliminating the retirement contributions from that salary as well as possible employer-provided matching contributions. There’s also the loss of potential investment growth for those contributions not being made.
Data also shows that women who step out of the workforce often return to a dramatically reduced salary—anywhere from 15 to 45 percent less.
Leaving the workforce or opting for part-time work may also trigger the loss of health savings accounts (HSAs), which may mean shouldering out-of-pocket costs for health care coverage.
Then, there’s the gender wealth gap. Let’s face it: The wealth gap had women facing an uphill climb financially even before the pandemic. The wealth gap is the difference between men’s and women’s sum of all financial resources—earnings, investments, retirement savings, and additional assets (such as property)—and is often a result of career choices and trajectories.
What I have come to learn is that planning for time away works like a magic pill for fatigue and burnout. We take it for granted quite a lot and don’t often realize it’s an essential part of creativity.
As we know, life is not merely about the accumulation of money. The McKinsey data highlighted issues related to mental health, the emotional toll of being overworked and overburdened, and the need for respite—things you can’t put a price on. You can prepare for time away from paid employment by creating a plan that prevents you from falling too far behind financially—something many women are not doing.
Nonetheless, here are a few tools to stave off burnout.
Communicate boundaries with your employer and colleagues. This includes communicating about when you will be online and when you will be offline. In a world where many of us have essentially a 24/7 workday, employees must communicate their boundaries, making clear when they’re not available.
“Buy time” to improve daily life balance
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed as we navigate our individual work-life balance. Buying time through investments like daycare or a meal delivery service can pay dividends in terms of life satisfaction. Buying time back can help to reduce daily burdens and eliminate some of the pressure we all feel. This doesn’t have to mean spending a lot of money, but simply making small, manageable changes in our lifestyles.
Build strong habits to support resilience
Learning to relax and find joy in small pleasures can take practice, especially in stressful situations, but implementing some good daily habits, like replacing negative thoughts with more helpful and balanced ones, or talking back to your anxiety through journaling can be pretty helpful.