A women and workplace survey from More magazine shows that 43% of women surveyed say they are less ambitious now than they were a decade ago. And only a quarter of the 500 women ages 35 to 60 say they're working toward their next promotion.
And forget the corner office: 3 out of 4 women in the survey--73%--say they would not apply for their boss' job. Almost 2 of 5--38%--report they don't want to put up with the stress, office politics and responsibility that often go hand in hand with such positions.
More Editor-in-Chief Lesley Jane Seymour says she's hoping that the survey, conducted in June, is more a reflection of the stress and negativity of difficult economic times and not a permanent trend. "We're bemoaning the lack of women in top Fortune 500 companies or women in political office," Seymour says. Just 16 Fortune 500 firms have female CEOs.
In a survey by Polling Company Inc./Woman Trend, 2 out of 3 women who had at least a college degree and employed in a professional position would prefer to have more free time than a bigger paycheck, and 2 of 5 said they would be willing to accept less money for more flexibility.
In the survey, 92% of women say they value workplace flexibility, but a third consider it career suicide to ask for more flexibility in their jobs. The trend isn't about women trying to manage children and professional demands. The survey found that only 15% say that household or child care responsibilities have held them back in their careers. Interestingly, while 62% of women with children say they would take more free time over more money, a larger number of single women--68%--say they would.
Reclaim Your Time and Life
Today’s women are better educated than ever before. They have accumulated a wealth of skills, have learned to be adaptable, and have been told that they can do anything they want to do. The upside is that they have become independent, self-sufficient, and confident of their abilities. The downside is that they will readily admit they have not found the enjoyment or satisfaction they once imagined. The reason they attribute to the problem is that they have taken on too much.
Only Superwoman can juggle it all.
With every member of the family pushed for time, family members no longer have the leisure to share news of the day, discuss plans or problems, have fun together, or regularly keep in touch with others. As our expectations bounce up against reality, we recognize that only Superwoman can juggle it all...but Superwoman is not a real woman.
Although many career women have embraced the stimulation, personal rewards, and financial benefits of working outside the home, they have not offset their increased responsibilities by getting the help they need. Especially for these talented women that need to shut the door on Superwoman, we have recently released a new self-coaching guide that passes on career success secrets written by co-author Barbara McEwen and myself over the last three years.
The concept of the book came about because of the very real, very important needs that our female clients repeatably expressed in their struggles with the countless roles and duties that are routinely placed on them. That is why Barb and I, as leading executive coaches of working women in North America, have a unique understanding of female perceptions that affect their work and home life challenges along with what approaches have worked well for our women clients.
It's time to get real. There is no "Superwoman" outside the movie theater and comic books. Weary women don't get the life they want because they are too busy, too tired, and not having much fun.
Source: USA Today, October 31, 2011
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