GLS
Consulting, Inc. Summary
This study concerns the experience of 561 women and 165 men in new economy companies, and compares the experiences of women at two significant points in time. Qualitative study data detailing women’s experiences in the new economy in the year 2000 formed the basis of the expanded quantitative survey of men and women’s experiences reported here. The snapshot of women’s experiences during the dotcom boom era, provided by the 2000 survey, provides a background for understanding the effects of a persistent economic downturn and the events of September 11, 2001 on the new economy workforce.
Women in 2000 and 2002: Exhaustion without exhilaration, and loss of prior gains
The results of the 2002 study contain several important themes. Women no longer report a simultaneous sense of “exhilaration and exhaustion,” as they did in 2000. While the exhaustion remains, the exhilaration is absent in 2002.
Ø 63% of women indicated a moderate to significant negative impact of workplace stress on their lives, reporting little emotional energy and strength left for life outside of work.
Ø 52% of women reported that life stress has grown worse since 9/11, and 44% reported that work-related stress has worsened.
Women seem to have lost some of the gains they identified in 2000, such as rapid advancement, flexibility in the workplace, and reduction of gender-related obstacles. Women in 2002 were less likely then men to report rapid advancement and workplace flexibility as current workplace characteristics. In addition, 38% of women reported that gender-related obstacles cause them difficulty and distress.
Men and women responded similarly
One striking aspect of the findings is that men reported experiences similar to those of women, though they expressed them a bit less emphatically. Men with children in particular responded very similarly to women. The results of the survey suggest that the current experience of both men and women includes a pervasive sense of living with substantial uncertainty and stress in the workplace, which in turn has a negative impact on personal and family life, and generates a wish for greater stability.
Ø Men and women reported the following important workplace characteristics that create distress for them: poor communication and planning (62%), the uncertain future (56%), inadequate infrastructure and support (54%), the lack of recognition in the workplace (52%), the lack of leadership (49%), and the stress and deadline pressure (46%).
Ø 56% of respondents indicated not having time and energy to pay attention to themselves, friends or community (46%), or for social life/dating (44%).
Ø 40% reported a strain on their marriage or significant relationships
The lingering impact of 9/11 on the lives of survey respondents
While people assert that they have “moved beyond” the events of 9/11, a closer examination indicates that for many of them, stress is high, and productivity in the workplace has been affected.
Ø 48% of men and women say that life stress has worsened, and 41% say that work-related stress has worsened.
Ø 24% reported that their ability to cope with stress and to work productively had suffered substantially since 9/11.
Ø While nearly three quarters (72%) of the women and men say they turned to their families for support after 9/11, nearly three fifths (56%) reported not having the emotional strength and energy left for life outside of work. Nearly half (46%) reported not having the time and energy for friends or community activities (46%), or social life/dating (44%).
Although people said they are coping with the stress by relying on themselves and their families, we infer from their responses some loss of the safety that was a normal part of most people’s experience. The events of 9/11 were, of course, complicated by the economic downturn that accompanied them. As one respondent commented:
“The tragic events of September 11th have helped me put my life in perspective, and taught me never to count on tomorrow.”
We suggest that men and
women are responding to the challenge by “hunkering down” in their jobs, relying
on their own strengths, and turning to their families and relationships outside
the workplace for support. The challenge of obtaining support, however, is made
more difficult by the fact that people report that they have little time or
emotional energy left outside of work for themselves, their families, or their
communities. Indeed, one third of people who actively consider leaving their
workplaces do so in the hope of having greater stability and less stress. As one
respondent commented:
“With the events of 9/11, my
workplace has laid off 24% of the company, adding stress and more work, and
significantly changing my plans for the future with regard to my personal life
and goals in it.”
Implications for Organizations
The implications of this study go beyond merely tracking people’s responses to workplace trends. It is possible to derive from its results a broader set of principles related to workplace conditions that have a negative impact on life—and lead people to consider leaving their jobs. Though the data cannot fully support a causal relationship, we hypothesize that favorable organizational environments are important in leading people to stay in their companies, and that such environments make it easier for them to cope with external sources of difficulty such as an economic downturn, and events like 9/11.
Ø People who reported positive workplace characteristics (satisfaction in accomplishments; the ability to learn and grow quickly; collaboration and teamwork; autonomy and independence; the freedom to be creative) said they were likely to remain in their jobs, and reported thinking less often about leaving. They also reported a stronger sense of post-9/11 job satisfaction and security, and expressed their intention to stay even if their company had been downsized since 9/11.
Part of the “common wisdom” in an economic downturn is that people are lucky to have their jobs. Indeed, in our survey, only 30% of people said they were actively looking for a new job. However, will people who resonate with the feelings of the respondent quoted below, stay with the company when the economy improves?
“I think that prior to 9/11/2001, most people had a general feeling that they had become responsible for managing their careers the way that self-employed individuals always have. That is, you have to work to create value to remain employed and marketable. I think, however, that since the terrorist attacks, corporate downsizing has really driven home the fact that people are not valued as company assets, and that it all boils down to numbers.”
Concluding thoughts
The concerns we have outlined seem likely to become more compelling as homeland security problems grow, and have additional impact on organizations and their members. In 2000, we believed that the findings for women were a bellwether for the future experiences of men. This study, just two years later, provides some evidence supporting that hypothesis. The results of the recent survey leads us to be confident in predicting that the experience of men and women in high tech and new economy companies is a bellwether for those in the rest of the economy as well. Thus we believe that serious work is needed on the following tasks:
1. examining alternative, innovative models of organizational structure;
2. learning to make good use of processes that help complex systems adapt productively to rapid change; and
3. building into our organizations the conditions that allow members to develop the resilience required to cope with continuing societal and economic turbulence.
We also suggest revisiting current models of leadership, and the ways we build leadership capacity in organizations. We lay down these challenges to organizations, not as alarmists, but to create awareness and generate hope for the emergence of innovative solutions. We hope this survey has begun to name some of the problems; we must all play a role in creating better organizations for the future.
Next:
Results of the Survey
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