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Women Burning Out By 'Working The Wrong Way' For Promotions

Women are more likely to work long hours and overtime but don't realise bosses aren't impressed with the efforts that are driving them to burnout

The gender pay gap in the UK could be set to stay at its 19.1 per cent rate for the foreseeable future, as it's been found that the efforts of hard-working women could be all for naught.

Research by The Open University has led experts to suggest that "three quarters of women are working too hard." But our efforts could be misdirected.

Working hard is one thing but it's not all about the hours you put in (REX)
Working hard is one thing but it's not all about the hours you put in (REX)

The study found that 61 per cent of working women regularly work overtime - with eight per cent clocking up an extra 40 hours a month.

But though we think putting in the extra time needed to hit deadlines and reach targets in the post-crash stretched workforce is the way up the career ladder, bosses actually have a different set of criteria to measure who's worthy of promotion.

According to the research, female employees believe the way to a payrise is to meet deadines (42 per cent), meet targets (37 per cent) or work longer hours (33 per cent).

But on the other side of the table, bosses put higher weight on obtaining extra educational qualifications (46 per cent), going on work related training course (33 per cent) and employees widening the knowledge of their professional remit by reading articles around the subject (26 per cent).

The fear is that women are working incredibly hard, driving themselves to breakdowns and still getting passed over for their colleagues who go on the odd training course.

Keith Zimmerman, Director, Students at The Open University said: "The start of a new year is the perfect time to take stock of your career and make decisions to change it for the better.

"The survey shows that people in the UK work very hard but some overlook the more effective means of achieving career goals."

If you're always the last one in the office, you might need to speak to your boss about workload (REX)
If you're always the last one in the office, you might need to speak to your boss about workload (REX)

So What Can Women Do?

Now's a great time to reevaluate your career and your working practises. If you're continually working late you need to look at why. Some jobs will always require out of hours and when you're working on big projects you might have to stay late. But if it's a continual thing and you're regularly staying later than your colleagues, things need to change.

If you can reprioritise your workload to ensure you can leave on time, it's worth putting in the time to do so. But if the sheer amount of work you have to do to hit deadlines and targets means you're stuck in the office long beyond you're contracted hours you need to speak to your boss.

Now's also a good time to look around for training opportunities. Many companies will foot the bill for workshops and short courses related to your industry and some will even pay for or contribute to further education courses so it's worth looking at what you'd like to do and speaking to your boss or HR department.

If there's no scope for this, reading around your work can make a big difference, but dedicate a couple of hours a week to researching your area. Try to be strict with yourself, as if you're already working long hours, the last thing you need is to spend more time in the work bubble.

And most importantly don't forget to shout about what you've learned - however you learned it - or your newfound knowledge will go to waste!

Women are risking burnout but aren't getting closer to promotion (REX)
Women are risking burnout but aren't getting closer to promotion (REX)

What People Believe Will Bring Them Career Glory

1. Meeting deadlines (37 per cent)
2. Meeting targets (37 per cent)
3. Working longer hours (33 per cent)
4. Learning new job skills (23 per cent)
5. Being a team player (18 per cent)
6. Going on work related training courses (17 per cent)
7. Working through lunch hour (15 per cent)
8. Dressing for success (13 per cent)
9. Being first in the office (12 per cent)
10. Work more efficiently (12 per cent).

What Bosses And Employers Actually Look For

1. Gaining qualifications, through additional education, that help them become better at their job (46 per cent)
2. Going on work-related training courses (33 per cent)
3. Gaining work-related knowledge through free online courses or by reading relevant books and/or articles (26 per cent)
4. Meeting deadlines (25 per cent)
5. Meeting targets (23 per cent)
6. Being eager to gain new job skills (22 per cent)
7. Working more efficiently (19 per cent)
8. Being a team player (19 per cent)
9. Winning new business (18 per cent)
10. Working as hard as possible to make things easy for a supervisor/manager (15 per cent).

[Expert: How To Get Taken Seriously At Work]
[Expert: How To Be More Confident At Work]