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One of the pivotal points of my career occurred when I started working at a company that offered women, especially professionals moms, flexible working options without these affecting their career advancement opportunities. As a matter of fact, many department heads were professional mothers who were driven, successful and climbing the corporate ladder…while still being able to pick up their kids on time after work.
In stark (and unfortunate) contrast, at a company I had worked before, leaving on time two days a week to pick up the kids was heavily frowned upon.
The difference between the two, other than the obvious, is one less obvious, much under-rated employee quality in today’s world: loyalty. While popular opinion may tend to be in favor of less loyalty and more self-interested motivations, both on the company and the employee side, I still do believe that an important part of employees’ engagement and commitment to their work lies in how they feel about the company they work for. If mutual respect and trust are lacking on either side, you get employees who are loyal to nothing else but their paychecks. And that’s exactly what happens with an increasing number of women, especially working mothers, in the corporate world, hence the saddening and unfortunate corporate female brain drain.

When asked about why they left the corporate world and their hefty paychecks, many a woman cites the lack of flexibility at work. As elusive as the work-life balance concept may be, a total lack thereof is increasingly and undoubtedly affecting employees. As another corporate sister and dear friend of mine puts it, “I don’t feel like the additional hours I spent at work are anymore productive. I feel there is a total disrespect for my person and my life, and that corporate is trading my loyalty and productivity for a few unproductive additional hours.”
And this is the reality for many a corporate sister out there, unfortunately having to choose between a fruitful and rewarding career, and their own family. And as a result, it is so unfortunate that so many women feel that they have to leave the workforce, or lower their professional expectations in order to have a life at all. In worst case scenarios, some of us may have to postpone having children or families of our own until our careers take off. And as our careers finally take off, we are frowned upon for now trying to achieve a healthy balance. In other scenarios, we get relegated from the start to the infamous “mommy track”, and trade flexibility for professional fulfillment, as if it were impossible to achieve both.
Women are not only paying for this illogical, limiting and imposed choice, but businesses and entire economies are suffering from the loss of loyalty and engagement from half, if not more, of the corporate workforce.

Do you think lack of flexibility fosters lack of loyalty for women in the corporate world?