My blog post Why Are Women So Unhappy at Work?, around the research of Sylvia Ann Hewlett, hit a nerve with both men and women that even today, with 150 comments from readers, refuses to quiet down.
Clearly many women are unhappy in their organizations. That said, men are, too. Commentators observed that the recession has robbed some companies of their core values, that the focus now is all on the bottom line rather than on purpose. And that makes for a dismal workplace. “Probably far more fruitful,” observed Tony Wanless, “would be a question about how to build a workplace that is more humane, less ferociously competitive and more collaborative as required in this century.”
Granted, but I also asked you to tell me what a female-friendly company would look like from scratch. How would it act differently? How would it feel to work there? Your comments were amazing. One reader, Manabozho, even suggested this new female friendly corporation would have a much different organizational design, with “a large proliferation of titles and modifiers, and branching organization designs.”
Here are some other highlights:
- A female friendly company would most certainly be a flexible workplace that allowed for those with families (and those without) to be measured on results, not “butt in chair.” Again, having a woman leader doesn’t guarantee this. –EJEDoherty
- Female CEO? Not really a good motivation. I am doing research on Gender related aspects. From most of the literature that I have studied it boils down to one thing, balancing work and household demands. If I were to start my own company todady the first benefit would be to offer women flexible hours.–theflo1
- 1. Flexible scheduling. If I have to leave early to pick my kid up from school, let me. And trust that I can still get my job done, during the hours that work best for me and my family.
2. Project-based assessments. As long as I’m getting my work done, who cares how many hours I work? If I can complete a project in 20 hours, do I need to work a 40 hour week?
3. On site daycare / nearby daycare / daycare stipends. The salary of many working mothers barely covers daycare bills. And certainly doesn’t make up for missing out on that time with the kids.
4. Discounts on maid service / dinner service. I realize this is simply a pipe dream, but it would sure take a large burden off our backs!
5. Understanding. Recognizing that work is work. It is not my life. And while it is a priority, it is not my top priority. So don’t think I’m crazy or think less of me when I have other, personal things to take care of. –Vickibug - Women want to be rewarded equally as their counterparts, and any good CEO whether male or female, who recognizes talent, hard work, integrity and gives flexibility, won’t have women abandoning ship. –Sharronm
- I think there is a fundamentally different paradigm that can exist in female-oriented workplaces and it takes us away from the whole aggressive, money and progress-oriented approach to work. It is a collaborative, nurturing, fun approach which, while achieving goals and earning a living, isn’t centered or structured the same way — it’s like a circle, not a hierarchy and goes to heart of our culture like the Gaia paradigm in environmental studies. It is so foreign to our male dominated culture that we would have trouble establishing it I suspect! –Lesley Whitteker
- A woman-friendly company should have a lot of cultural commitment to acknowledging feelings and validating them — especially when a difficult decision has to be made. –Manabozho
Where Women Go
What about those who do choose to leave: Do they find fullfillment — and if so, where? In an email to BNET, CSDunford told us she took a demotion in order to improve her work environment — and she couldn’t be happier.
“The reason I left was lack of challenge and a lack of recognition. I moved to a new job where I had to take a downgrade to get in the door, but my options for upward mobility are much better — in fact, I’m already earning several times what I did before at the old job. I have more responsibility and I get to exercise the gray matter. It’s a very rewarding position and I wouldn’t go back to the old job even if they offered me double what I’m earning now.”
For many, the perfect company is the one they create for themselves. “Leaving to form my own freelance design company helped me put the balance into my life that I’d been trying to achieve…” wrote Maura Mather in an email to BNET:
“I was always late to work when I was punching the clock for someone else. But I discovered that the only way to do all that I had to do during the day for my family and myself was to literally make my own schedule. I still work just as hard, and in fact I work much harder. But I don’t have the guilt of disappointing my boss every day by showing up late, I don’t get the angry silences from co-workers that result from childcare emergencies, and I can take care of my daughter and husband at the standards i set for myself. In addition, my business is booming.”
And Vicki F. echoed the thoughts of more than a few women on the thread that putting up her own shingle was the ultimate answer to the question, “Why are women unhappy at work?”
“When my company downsized I volunteered to take a severance package — I intended to work with my husband in his consulting business. But as it happened I ended up finding consulting work in my same field — in fact my first project was working on the same product my former company sells and implements. It’s only been a few months but so far it’s worked out very well. I really can’t see going back to being an employee again, certainly not any time soon.”
Are we done with this fascinating conversation? I hope not. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on building a female-friendly company. And tune in next week, when we’ll have a follow-up guest post from Hewlett herself.
