Work-life balance: YouGov-Firstpost survey shows financial independence is top priority for 40% of highest-earning women

As the job market becomes increasingly crowded year after year, and opportunities seemingly dry up, the first thing to disappear for working professionals is a balance between their jobs and their personal lives. The impact of an unhealthy work-life balance makes itself felt on productivity in the workplace, personal relations, psychological and physical health, and a whole lot of other areas. [caption id=“attachment_5436121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] YouGov India, in consultation with Firstpost, recently conducted a pan-India survey of women — interviewing over 750 respondents — asking them a series of questions spanning the areas of sexual harassment in the work place, the pay gap and the work-life balance. The exercise was conducted between 26 September and 5 October and employed a 26-question-long survey that covered respondents across 100 Indian cities. Having serialised the  findings of the survey relating to sexual harassment  and  examined how women view the gender pay gap , Firstpost will be examining how women view the work-life balance over a series of four infographics. The second set of infographics depicts how women from different pay brackets perceive the work life balance. The survey classified women under sixe groups based on monthly income: ‘Rs 20,000 or less’, ‘Rs 20,000 to 30,000’, ‘Rs 30,000 to 50,000’, ‘Rs 50,000 to 75,000’, ‘Rs 75,000 to one lakh’ and ‘Rs one lakh and above’. According to the findings, less than 10 percent of the women surveyed expressed unhappiness or extreme unhappiness with their work-life balance. It was noted that nearly four in every 10 women on the higher end of the pay scale (Rs 75,000 and above) stated that their primary reason for working was to secure financial independence. As one works down the scale, the need to provide for one’s family was the primary reason for working. Further, around 70 percent of women in the middle (Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000) and upper pay brackets (Rs 75,000 and above) felt they were happy or extremely happy with their work life balance, while this figure dropped to under 60 percent among women in the lower pay bracket. Finally, while nearly 60 percent women on the upper rung of the salary scale expressed remote working facilities as their key demand from organisation, flexible work hours was the priority for the rest of the women.