According to the women in the workplace 2020 report by Mckinsey and Lean-in, “One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to Covid-19” In the last few months, I have seen this play out within my circle of friends, especially the working mums. Covid-19 put additional pressure on women to increase their intensity of multitasking.
We were required to show up at work, and take care of the home burdens, coupled with the additional pressure to fill in the gap and be teachers ourselves. I still cannot believe I homeschooled my son for 4months.
To crown it all, more women are having the guilt trip that these additional burdens will negatively impact their performance and their managers will misjudge them.
Now more than ever, HR and business leaders need to appreciate the women on their teams.
Lead with empathy and be high on emotional intelligence.
Praise their efforts and give constructive feedback.
Provide them with resources to cope with stress and initiate a wellness program where possible.
It takes extra muscle for women to show up at work as a whole during these periods. Appreciate the little drops.