Money Makers: Flexible Work's Impact on Working Mothers During the Pandemic

 

FlexJobs released new findings from a survey of over 700 working mothers between July and August 2021. Below are some key takeaways, and you can visit the link above for more data.

FlexJobs Survey: Flexible Work’s Impact on Working Mothers During the Pandemic

Working Mothers Need Job Flexibility:

• More than half of working moms (55%) described themselves as someone who both needs and wants to work.

• 40% are actively looking for a new job because they want to work remotely. 

• 52% of working moms said their ideal post-pandemic work arrangement would be to work remotely full-time, with an additional 44% preferring a hybrid workplace.

• 49% of working moms know at least one person that has already quit or plans to quit because their employers are requiring them to return to the office.

The Benefits of Work Flexibility: 

• 68% agreed a permanent remote job would have a positive impact or be a huge improvement on their mental health

• 64% said they’re extremely or somewhat optimistic about their employment situation in the coming 6 months. 

• 63% of working moms said they’re not worried that working from home will hurt their career progression.

Top reasons for wanting a job with flexible work options include work-life balance (85%), family (79%), and commute stress (50%). Other top reasons cited were: 

• Time savings (42%)

• Cost savings (39%)

• Avoiding exposure to illnesses (e.g., COVID-19, the flu, common cold) (39%)

• Avoiding office politics and distractions (32%)

• Caregiving responsibilities (24%)

• Supporting health and wellness challenges or goals (24%)

Biggest Mistakes Companies Made: 

When asked what they think were the biggest mistakes companies made during the pandemic, working mothers cited: 

• Not fully understanding the stress of work-life conflicts during quarantine (34%) 

• Poor communication from leadership (33%) 

• Unrealistic expectations about productivity during quarantine (26%)

• Poor management of workers overall (23%)

• Not offering mental health support (22%)

• Being too rigid with work schedules (21%)

• Not equipping workers with home office equipment (laptops, headphones, etc.) (16%)

• Not giving enough support for technological problems (14%)

Additionally, lack of healthy work-life boundaries (60%) and not allowing flexible schedules (57%) were among the top factors they reported as making them likely to not apply, not accept, or to quit a job. Other major reasons cited include:

• Low salary (84%)

• Toxic company culture (72%)

• Micro-managing boss (58%)

• Not allowing remote work (54%)

• Lacking or poor benefits, such as not offering health insurance or 401(k) retirement benefits (44%)

• Limited PTO or sick time (40%)

• Amount of travel required (39%)

• Limited advancement opportunities or career progression (38%)

• Not having diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in place (30%)