Top 3 Reasons Women Over 50 Are Tired of Their Jobs

Top 3 Reasons Women Over 50 Are Tired of Their Jobs

Why are women over 50 coming home to work?

This article is part one of a series of three aimed at discovering why working women over 50 are transitioning from traditional jobs to working from home.

Women made up more than 49% of the workforce during a poll reported in 2008. Yet, today more than ever, many women state that they are tired of their current job. If you are a working woman over the age of 50, how do you feel about the job you currently hold?

We discovered by interviewing many women that the top reasons women over the age of 50 are tired of their jobs boils down to just three: boring jobs, negative co-workers, and lack of personal time. The statistics were very different for younger women who reported low wages, difficult supervisors, and missing family events as the main reasons for hating their jobs.

Top 3 reasons for being tired of their job

For women over 50, the top 3 reasons they are tired of their jobs boiled down to their priorities in their unique circumstances and life. With no small children at home, a woman over 50 is looking to maintain her lifestyle, seriously get ready for those golden years of retirement, and fulfill her life’s purpose. Let’s take a look into those top three reasons in detail.

1 – Boring job: After being the CEO of her home for years, multi-tasking took on a whole new meaning. With baby on her hip, a mop in one hand, and the phone on the other shoulder talking with a friend was a daily occurrence. However, answering phones and taking messages hardly makes for a fulfilling day compared to her role at home, right? If you were to look at a corporate secretary job description, would she feel fulfilled taking messages and answering the phone all day long? I sincerely doubt it. If comparing a supervisor's role at the same company, could you compare the management of a home to babysitting snooty-nosed, lazy adults who could care less if they were there or not? All they care about is collecting their check and punching the clock. Their concern is not to give it their all for serving others, oh no…that is someone else's job. Is this all there is to life?

2 – Negative co-workers: I remember this one all too well. My co-workers didn't want to help customers, took more breaks than they were supposed to, and were paid the same salary as I was while my production outperformed theirs by 3:1. Regardless of job performance and attitude, their paycheck remained constant with mine.

When on coffee breaks, the stress intensified due to gossip around the water-cooler instead of being a time of relaxation and refreshment. Why on Earth do we put up with such conditions? Oh yes, that’s right, we need to earn a living to feed those kids we have in daycare or pay the mortgage for the home we are living in. Isn’t there a better solution?

3 – Lack of personal time: Vacation time around the bank was a premium piece of real estate. Each January we anxiously awaited our turn, allotted by seniority to choose our two weeks paid vacation days. I don’t know about you, but I struggled to figure out how my whole year would look in January just to be able to “lock in” my valued time off.

That was just the beginning. What about when my kids were sick? My supervisor could have cared less. She had a department to run and if I weren’t present, who would do my duties, serve my customers, or complete the daily reports. I remember one specific time during my last days at the bank; this one incident was my wake-up call.

My little one-year-old was running a very high fever. Because I felt guilty and was railroaded into coming into work, the sitter had to call me to report her condition was worsening. I called our doctor, and he asked me to immediately bring her in. When I requested time off to take my very ill daughter in for her appointment, I was denied. My supervisor told me to have her daycare provider take her in. I’ll leave the story at…I, her mother, took her to the appointment and within one week handed in my resignation.

As working women over 50, we no longer have to worry about our children in daycare…unless, we are raising our grandchildren, and then it resurfaces and once again becomes an issue. For the majority of us, though, it is more an issue of being able to spend quality time with our grandchildren when we want to, not when some big corporation tells us we can.

After all, haven’t we earned the right to our time? Aren’t we at the age when we are supposed to begin enjoying life to the full? Is this the way it is supposed to be?

After recognizing the top three reasons why women over 50 are tired of their jobs, it’s time to do something more about it, don’t you think?

Broader Challenges Beyond the Workplace

In addition to these workplace challenges, many women over 50 are also stepping away from their jobs due to significant life changes. For some, caregiving responsibilities become a priority. A growing number of women find themselves providing care not only for their children but also for their aging parents and spouses with health issues.

Research highlights how these caregiving roles impact employment. Studies have shown that women in their early 50s to early 60s face a reduced likelihood of staying employed if they are caring for a parent. In fact, a recent survey revealed that 50% of women aged 45 to 60 sometimes feel torn between being a good employee and a good daughter.

These trends illustrate that the decision to leave the workforce often involves a complex interplay of personal, familial, and societal factors, beyond just job dissatisfaction. Understanding these broader challenges is crucial for addressing the needs of women over 50 in the workplace.

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