Deloitte’s Women@Work: A Global Outlook discloses several factors affecting women professional’s productivity that includes both, mental health and physical health. The report highlights the disbalance of responsibilities that women are expected to carry out, which negatively impacts their careers.

The past few decades have seen women taking a stand for themselves while enhancing their skills to work concurrently in the male-dominated work professions.

Despite the progress, women still face numerous challenges in the workplace that not only hampers their mental peace but impacts their work productivity as well. Women often have to go through several of domestic hurdles that just add up to the problems they face in their workplaces. Little did the world talk about these incessant stumbling blocks of problems that woman professionals have to endure in order to build a successful career.

Owing to the plethora of messes and muddles, women lag behind their male counterparts and the pace of career growth slows down after a certain point. Regardless of any country, women face indistinguishable troubles in regards to professional life. Due to their struggle in work-life balance, women professionals are struggling in various aspects.

Considerable Points of the Report

A new report has been making rounds on the internet i.e., “Deloitte’s Women@Work: A Global Outlook” that has surveyed a total number of 5000 women in workplaces from 10 different countries that includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States while exploring few critical workplace and societal factors impacting women’s careers.

Some of the major factors that came to light after the survey includes poor mental health and rising stress levels in addition to lack of support from their employers. Additionally, women also face physical health issues including menstruation, menopause, and fertility that agitates their work in offices. However, women working in hybrid conditions admits for being much productive as compared to WFO (Work from Office).

This year’s report enumerates half of the participants of the survey remarks that they are facing higher stress levels than last year and equivalent number mentions about concerned mental health. The survey outlines Mental health as top three concern for 48 per cent of women globally while financial security at 51 per cent and lastly rights at 50 per cent.

Moreover, Deloitte’s Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Emma Codd says, “Despite a small number of improvements since last year, our survey tells us that women are facing mounting pressures in the workplace, their personal lives, and in their communities. Globally, women feel their rights are backsliding, they are experiencing increased stress and taking on the majority of household tasks at home. Alongside this they are experiencing non-inclusive behaviours at work, are concerned for their safety and feel unable to disclose when they are experiencing women’s health challenges. This is a situation that must change—and employers must enable this.”

Deep Dive into the Report

According to the report, 50 per cent of women who work as per their working hours admits their mental health to be good enough while 23 per cent of women who regularly work extra hours disagrees to the fact. Then there’s 37 per cent of women say they feel likely to switch off from their work. In addition, over 50 per cent of women mentions that they aren’t getting enough mental health support from employers whereas 2/3 of women are not comfortable talking about their mental health in the workplace.

Flashing light on the other aspects, 50 per cent of women, living with their partners and children expresses that they have the responsibility of child-care i.e., up from 46 per cent in the year 2023 while only 12 per cents admits that this responsibility falls to their partner. Likewise, 57 per cent of women who doesn’t have children, are committed to taking responsibility of adult care that goes up from 44 per cent in 2023 whereas only 5 per cent say this falls to their partner.

Conclusion

The disbalance of the responsibilities makes it even difficult for women to manage their professional lives. It reports only 27 per cent women who bear the greatest responsibility at home say they can disconnect from their personal life and focus on their careers.

The survey calls for action in order to give a balanced work life for women who are willing to give their best while showcasing their skills in the workplace besides being homemakers. If women get the chance to solely focus on their work then they would have acquired much more progress than what the percentage shows today.