What’s Behind the ‘Great Breakup’?

Women continue to leave the office in record numbers, especially women leaders.

The so-called “Great Breakup” has seen women executives switching jobs at the highest rate in years as microaggressions they regularly face underscore the hurdles they face to advancement. Add in burnout and the numbers get even more alarming.

How bad are things? The latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and LeanIn.org found 43% of women in corporate America felt they were burned out. And only 40% say they feel like their managers showed an interest in their career.

Meanwhile, 37% of women leaders had a coworker take credit for their idea and said that they were two times more likely to be mistaken for someone junior.

“Women have very high ambitions, as they always have, and they are not seeing the ability to fulfill those ambitions in the places where they work,” said Lareina Yee, senior partner at McKinsey on a recent podcast. “That is not because they’re burned out. It is because they’re looking for a place that’s going to be reciprocal in its relationship with them…For every one manager or director who was promoted this year, two decided to leave. So even if a company feels they may be promoting a couple of women, the net picture is that women aren’t feeling this is the environment for them to thrive.”

Women leaders tend to check in with their employees much more frequently on workload and wellness matters, but they don’t see any rewards for doing that. That’s leading them to look for other options, adds Alexis Krivkovich, co-founding author of the report.

To avoid this sort of exodus, the research shows, companies need to actively think about giving women the ability to advance. They should also offer constructive feedback and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. And, as many employees of both genders are looking for these days, flexibility is of growing importance.

“When women worked remotely, some of the microaggressions and othering reduced,” said Yee. “This was also true for people with disabilities. This was also true for people of color. So it’s curious because you might say, ‘well, then we should just all be virtual.’ I think the question to ask is: Why isn’t the in-person experience actually better?”

Women, of course, are already significantly underrepresented in leadership on the whole. Only one in four C-suite leaders is a woman, and only one in 20 is a woman of color. The Great Breakup is not only a threat to the current crop of leaders, but to the next generation as well, as they see senior women depart for better opportunities, sending the message that they should consider doing the same.

Diverse workforces have superior performances, though, notes Krivkovich. That makes it crucial for companies to ensure they have not only the right people involved in decision-making, but ones who approach the issue from different viewpoints.

Here’s the good news. Two-thirds of women under 30 want to be senior leaders. The burnout and the challenges women in senior management positions face aren’t dissuading them, but rather energizing them to shift the paradigm.

“What they’re saying is, ‘even more than before, I want these opportunities.’ I think that’s our bright spot and our opportunity to seize onto,” says Krivkovich. “What they expect is that the talk around diversity and inclusion is followed up in the walk and the outcomes that companies are getting. What they expect is that the discussion around a more flexible workplace becomes permanent and baked into practices. What they expect is that they will have that equal opportunity to advance.”

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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