A study by LinkedIn notes that a staggering number of women professionals in India would not hesitate to quit a job or reject an offer, if it is not accompanied by flexibility.
The LinkedIn study, which had 2,266 respondents, notes that with the pandemic providing an environment for flexible working — which has extended into a long-term vision for many employees — 70% of women professionals have already quit or consider quitting their jobs because they had not been offered the right flexible policies. The study notes that while looking for a new job, 72% of working women in India reject roles that do not allow for flexible working.
The LinkedIn study underlines that women professionals may not take kindly to a rigid work structure anymore, and if employers persisted with it, there would be “flexidus” or exodus of women workers from the workforce decrying the lack of flexibility.
On the benefits of a flexible work structure, 43% of the respondents said it improved work-life balance and helped progress their careers. More than 30% felt it improved their mental health and 33% said it increased the possibility of their continuance in their current jobs.
As per the study, many working women pay “heavy penalties” to work in a flexible environment.
About 88% working women had to take a pay cut to work flexibly. More than 30% had their flexible working request denied, and 27% struggled to convince their bosses to accept their request.
A good number of respondents felt that a career break was not viewed in a positive light. As per the study, 78% of working women take career breaks to improve their well-being, plan career changes, and boost their confidence at work. Many even use the time to learn new hard and soft skills. But 77% of working women in India who took a break say that it had actually set them back in their careers.
This is due to the prevalent stigma associated with career breaks among recruiters and employers, which has made it difficult for every second (50%) working woman in India to explain their career break to recruiters. As a result, many choose to exclude career breaks from their CVs (42%) or lie about their breaks to potential recruiters when being interviewed (35%).
“This is a warning sign for companies and recruiters to remove the stigma surrounding the need for flexibility and career breaks, and introduce stronger flexibility policies if they don’t want to lose top talent,” according to the conclusion derived from the study.
