According to Gartner, women want a career that is purpose-driven.

WOMEN WANT A PURPOSE-DRIVEN CAREER, GARTNER FINDS According to a study by Gartner, many women believe that the Covid-19 pandemic affected their perspective on work and its position in their life, which might lead to changes in how companies create jobs and processes.

In a survey of 3,515 workers conducted by Gartner in October 2021, 65 percent of women said the pandemic caused them to reconsider work’s place in their lives, and nearly 70 percent of women with children agreed that the pandemic “changed how they value certain aspects of their life outside of work.” In the poll, fewer than half of women agreed that they had adequate energy for leisure activities, indicating that they were less happy than males.

According to the Gartner study, employers should provide employees greater autonomy over their workdays and set out time for both synchronous and asynchronous work, as well as a minimum number of days per year for teams to meet in person. Other changes, according to the organization, such as establishing an outcomebased management structure and focusing on purpose-driven work, might also be beneficial.

The firm’s study touches on the specific experiences of women in the US job market over the last two years, when the Covid-19 pandemic impacted many people’s employment. According to management consulting firm LHH, women continue to endure higher degrees of job uncertainty than males, as evidenced by a poll that revealed women to be more concerned about their future professional move than men.

Employers have also focused on women who left the workforce totally owing to the pandemic, despite the fact that 63 percent of those who did so wanted to return, according to a study conducted

by Metlife and Rainmakers CSI in late 2021.

Employers such as Schneider Electric have created return-to-work programs aimed exclusively at this skill sector.

According to the Gartner study, purpose-driven employment is important in attracting women, while others have found that businesses are failing to deliver on such programs.

“Women are tired and due to the pandemic, many are lacking access to the re-energizing activities that provide personal fulfillment,” Alexia Cambon, research director in Gartner’s HR practice, said in a statement. “In the absence of a life outside work, the pressure grows for work to be worth the burnout. Employers must start redesigning work to be a unique value proposition in and of itself.”