From 40 per cent in 2023, to 43 per cent in 2024—that is the only improvement there has been in the percentage of women, worldwide, who admit that their employers provide them adequate mental health support. That is hardly any improvement to get excited about. This year, about a quarter of women—from across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, the UK, and the US—admit to feeling burnt out, reveals the Deloitte Women@ Work 2024 report. Last year, a little over a third felt burnt out and in 2022, nearly half felt burnt out.
When it comes to talking about mental-health challenges, there has been a wee bit of progress. Last year, one fourth of the women surveyed admitted to being comfortable discussing mental-health issues. With the improvement, only about one third of women feel comfortable discussing their mental health at work or revealing any issues with mental health because of which they could be taking leave.
These are negligible improvements. In fact, one-third admit to having taken time off work in the past one year due to mental-health issues. Over 50 per cent of the women surveyed still feel they lack adequate mental-health support at work, while two-thirds still feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace or revealing mental health as the reason for absenting themselves from work.
The survey reveals that women from ethnic minority groups in their home country are not faring well either. In fact, the likelihood of receiving adequate mental-health support from their employers or even feeling comfortable discussing mental health in the workplace is even lesser. They also admit to experiencing more stress and are more likely to have taken leave from work due to mental-health challenges in the past one year compared to women belonging to the ethnic majority.
Add to all this workplace stress, under which women are increasingly reeling. The data revealed by the report is hardly encouraging.
While 51 per cent in 2023 admitted their stress levels were higher than they were a year ago, only 50 per cent admitted to the same in 2024. Not much to be proud of there.
While 40 per cent of women in 2023 said they received adequate mental health support from their employer, in 2024, only 43 per cent admitted to the same. Although a slight improvement, it is not really that great.
While 31 per cent women surveyed in 2023 had taken time off from work due to mental health challenges, about 33 per cent in 2024 did the same.
About 25 per cent women in 2023 and 33 per cent in 2024 said they felt comfortable talking about their mental health at their workplace. There is a little hope, for sure.
In 2021, 25 per cent of the women surveyed admitted to being comfortable disclosing mental-health challenges as the reason for their absence from work, while in 2024, 32 per cent of the women surveyed felt they would be comfortable doing so. That is a notable improvement.
Women are feeling burnt out, although less than the last year. While 28 per cent in 2023 said they felt burnt out, only 23 per cent in 2024 said they felt burnt out.
Nineteen per cent of working women surveyed in 2024 say they regularly work for more than the contracted working hours each week.
‘Deloitte’s Women @ Work: A Global Outlook’ report examines certain critical workplace and societal factors that have a significant impact on women’s careers. The study represents the views of 5,000 women from organisations across 10 countries. The aim of the survey is to understand the first-hand experiences of women at work, and the ways in which aspects of their lives outside of the workplace can impact these experiences.