U.K. Women Face More Burnout and Financial Strain Than Men

Research from Employment Hero finds that 18% of women have felt stressed at work every day for the last three months, twice the amount of stress felt by their male colleagues.

By Maggie Mancini

Research from Employment Hero finds that women still face many challenges at work, including higher rates of burnout, a lack of freedom, and greater financial stress compared to their male colleagues. The survey of 1,000 Brits, commissioned by Employment Hero, finds that 69% of women experience burnout in the workplace. Of these, 18% say they’ve felt stressed at work every day for three months, twice the number of men.  

The rates are noticeably lower for men, though still high, with 56% saying they’ve experienced burnout and 9% saying they’ve felt stressed at work every day for the past three months. Three times as many men have never felt stressed at work over the same period compared to women. Women are also more likely to take stress-related or burnout leave at 36%, compared to 32% of men.  

Despite feeling more stressed and burned out, women are disproportionately affected by the cost of living, according to the data. Nearly half of women, 48%, say they aren’t on track with their financial goals, almost twice the number of men, at 27%.  

The report looks at industries like banking and financial services, education and training, engineering, legal, real estate and property, sales, trades and services, and self-employment. It also includes entry-level through senior executive roles, employment status, small to large companies, and other demographics including parents and non-parents and remote or flexible hybrid working arrangements.  

Clair Flynn, Employment Hero’s U.K. HR lead, says the report shows there’s still a long way to go before closing the mental health gap.  

The data shows that women don’t feel as comfortable as men talking to their manager about a disagreement with a colleague, personal financial concerns, professional stress and burnout, or the end of a marriage or long-term relationship. Women also feel less comfortable (41%) providing feedback about the workplace to management or HR than men (48%). 

More than half of men in the U.K. (59%), agree that they’re happy with their overall mental health compared to less than half of women (44%), as well as being happier with their physical health than women (63% vs 46%). Men also feel more productive, have more time to relax and dedicate to their hobbies and interests than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, half of women and nearly half of men agree that the number one perk outside of pay that would convince them to work for a company is remote and flexible work options.