Extreme Jobs Limit Gender Diversity in the Workplace
I've just come across an article on "Extreme Jobs". It's a replacement term for the old-fashioned "workaholic". According to this article at BlogHer the phrase "Extreme Jobs" was coined by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, head of the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force of the Center for Work-Life Policy.
According to the Center for Work-Life Policy’s latest research, titled, "Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek", to qualify as an extreme jobber, a worker must meet the following standards: first, work 60 hours a week or more, then, meet at least five of the following conditions: have work whose flow is unpredictable, work under tight deadlines, have work events outside of regular work hours, be available to clients 24/7, have P&L responsibility, have a large amount of travel, or a large number of direct reports, have a scope of responsibility that amounts to more than one job.
According to Hewlett, the pool of workers who meet the standard for extreme is growing. More than 20% of U.S. workers qualify, and 45% of professionals in global companies. Measured by sheer work hours alone, 48% say they’re working an average of 16.6 hours more per week than they did five hours ago.
The reasons for the fast-paced career environments today were listed by the Center. Among the external drivers: the current global economic environment which often requires enormous travel and the necessity of being available at odd hours for conference calls and communication with the other side of the world; competitive pressures; vastly improved communication technology; and cultural shifts. Among the internal motivators: stimulating work, high quality colleagues, high compensation, power, and status.
However, since over the years more and more women have been working in such environments, it is inevitable that the work-life balance of working women will be greatly affected. Three quarters of the women surveyed by the Center said their work interfered with their ability to maintain their homes (66% of men said the same thing), two thirds said they don’t get enough sleep; half didn’t get enough exercise, and a significant number use alcohol, drugs, or food to alleviate their stress.
The Center's research showed that among the extreme jobbers in the U.S., less than a fifth are women. While women are well represented in jobs that require high performance (fast pace with tight deadlines, 24/7 client demands, etc.), once those jobs require more than 60 hours a week, there's a huge fall off in women’s participation. Women, it seems, are more sensitive to the "opportunity costs" of long hour jobs, particularly as they relate to the well-being of their children. A majority of women (57%) said they don't want to work at this pace for more than another year; 48% of the men surveyed agreed.
This problem used to be an individual's responsibility alone. Employees who feel they can not work such "extreme" hours have the option to quit. Losing valuable employees can be a blow to the company. Thus the problem becomes a corporate matter to attend to. Companies must now provide employees alternatives to the extreme jobber lifestyle.
Other related articles on Extreme Jobs:
Hooked on Work: the Allure of Extreme Jobs
Women And The New 'Extreme' Jobs
Add This To Your Corporate Patois: Extreme Jobs
Overwork and the Rise of "Extreme Jobs"
Labels: extreme jobs, gender diversity, women at work, workplace diversity
posted by diversityworking @ 11:22 AM
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