Nearly one in three UK women expect to leave work before they plan to retire, with many citing health, wellbeing, or menopause concerns as reasons for their potential early departures - according to a report by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
The BSI survey polled women in the UK and found that 29% of them were likely to leave the workforce early for reasons other than personal choice. Among this group, 40% expected their early departure to be due to health and wellbeing issues, while an additional 20% specifically mentioned menopause as a barrier to staying in work longer.
The report also highlighted the desire of the majority (75%) of UK women for employers to take more action to retain older female workers. Furthermore, 71% of respondents believed that politicians needed to drive this change.
The attraction and retention of workers aged 50 and over is a significant element of the UK government's labour strategy, as evidenced by the introduction of 'returnerships' announced in the recent Budget.
Kate Field - Global Head of Health, Safety, and Wellbeing at BSI - acknowledged that there are various reasons why women decide not to stay in the workplace and when that is a genuine choice, it should be celebrated. However, the data from the survey shows that there are women who would like to remain in work and would appreciate greater support from their employers to do so.
Field emphasised the opportunity for organisations to partner with their employees to build diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace cultures that can bring enormous benefits to individuals, organisations, and society.
The BSI report also included findings from a survey of more than 5,000 women across the UK, USA, Australia, China and Japan, as part of their "Lifting the second glass ceiling" study. In the UK, 54% of women reported that they would find it difficult to raise health and menopause-related concerns with their employer.
Interestingly, three-quarters of respondents said they would feel comfortable discussing menopause issues with a female manager, while far fewer felt the same level of comfort with a male manager. In fact, only 38% of UK women would feel comfortable discussing health issues with a male manager.
The survey results also revealed that 67% of UK women believed that experienced female mentors would benefit the development of younger women. However, only 46% of respondents had the opportunity to learn from these mentors themselves.
To prevent women from leaving before retirement age, the BSI report recommended that employers consult with female workers to understand how they can enhance engagement and trust. Additionally, it suggested ensuring that support is available and accessible, making small adjustments to working arrangements to enable flexibility and fostering a workplace culture that ensures equity for people of all ages.
Anne Hayes - Director of sectors at BSI - highlighted the benefits of addressing the second glass ceiling, which she stated could “… offer many benefits, from enhancing productivity to ensuring organisations retain talented people and providing mentors who can draw on their experience to guide newer members of staff.”
