“The higher I go, the more I hurt.” An insightful read from HBR on the harmful “maladaptations” of high performing women in the corporate sphere. From the pressure to be “perfect” to feeling like you have to sacrifice things to succeed, continuing to battle these setbacks on our own will leave us even more burnt out than before. The women interviewed were taught to accept and adapt in the business culture despite potentially toxic work conditions and putting their mental and physical health at risk. An interesting notion the article touches upon is how “Concepts like executive presence and professionalism were often full of coded messages the women internalized, causing them to edit their behaviors ” Women in higher positions constantly feel the pressure to assimilate and conform in order to advance in their jobs or seen as successful. Often times, they are the only women in that position of leadership, so they take on more roles and become burnt out, “taking on the additional work of being the “only,” While diversity is essential in the workplace, it should not be the responsibility of women in leadership to implement. Per HBR, while some of it is up to us to change our boundaries and mindsets, company leaders need to be aware of these hurdles and redesign their cultures to enable their women leaders to “thrive, not just survive.”
https://hbr.org/2022/10/5-harmful-ways-women-feel-they-must-adapt-in-corporate-america