& Company, women surveyed
confirmed that a leadership
ambition gap does exist. The
study, that comprised 118
companies and nearly 30,000
employees, showed that, at
every stage, women are less
eager than men to become a
top executive. They are more
likely to cite “stress and pressure” as a top issue, and this is
not solely rooted in concern
over balancing work and family.
Women study participants
of all ages without children
cited “stress or pressure” as
their number-one obstacle. The
study concluded that there is
very possibly another explana-
tion—the path to leadership is
disproportionately stressful - or is
perceived to be disproportionately
stressful - for women.
Working from home or ‘work-
ing for myself’ are often considered
but not pursued, because women
perceive difficulty to create time and
space to pursue their personal passions and their
business vision. Daily household routines can be a
source of distraction during business hours, at-home
children may interrupt business activities at the
very worst moment, and the home may
not offer enough space and privacy to
conduct business appropriately. During
non-business hours, work responsibilities
can become the distraction, contributing to the
Work-Life imbalance.
Devil or Angel? 24/7 Connectivity
Accessibility by text messages, phone calls, and
emails contributes to constant connection to work
and disrupts quality family time or downtime. Technological advances create an ‘always-on’ culture which
is ramping up pressure for people to be constantly
available to work. Researchers have discovered this
phenomenon is more than inconvenient and that
recreational time completely free of work is essential
to help the body recuperate.
Electronic accessibility has caused what some are
calling a ‘stressful new night shift’ for otherwise off-duty
employees. 3 Even when employees are not required
to check email and text messages from their employers, many do because they either are attracted to the
lure of a message waiting for attention, or, because
they like being able to address work issues as they
arise, despite their lack of urgency. (The pressure to be
‘always on’ is a further complication to shattering the
myths about professional women. More about that in
a later section.)
Besides being an imposition on time with family and friends, some studies suggest there are real
health problems associated with checking work emails
outside of normal work hours. A German study of
57,000 workers found that more than half of the subjects worked to some extent outside of normal work
hours. The subjects who did regularly check work
emails and take calls from their employers during
evenings and weekends were more likely to complain
