What Is Driving The Gender Gap In Workplace Burnout?

Studies and surveys over the last several years have all shown that working women are experiencing the burden of burnout.  

Even prior to the pandemic, 30% of women and 27% of men said they “always” or “very often” feel burned out in the workplace. The last two years have only exacerbated this point and in 2021, 34% of women and 26% of men reported feeling burned out.  

Burnout is a huge problem for everyone, but it is disproportionately impacting women and particularly women of color. Knowing this, addressing issues of burnout in the workplace is well overdue. 

Gallup researchers reviewed factors that are associated with the workplace burnout gender gap and found that there are many factors contributing to burnout, as well as strategies that can be taken to close the gap. 

According to Gallup, women who work in a hybrid arrangement are at a higher risk of burnout compared to those who work remotely or in the office full-time. In comparison, there appears to be no connection between men’s working arrangements and their burnout risk.  

Among women who are experiencing burnout, there is a significant portion of women in managerial roles feeling the toll of large workloads and taking on additional responsibilities.  

This trend was seen across all genders, meaning that the overall increased work hours contribute to higher levels of burnout. 

Parenthood also plays a role in current burnout levels; however, the research does not find that it is the sole factor driving the gap. This is likely due to schools being able to reopen after the initial surge of Covid-19 surge, allowing parents to shed their double duty as an employee and home school teacher.