The Roundup: Why women leave tech, robots aren’t taking over jobs, and crafting co-worker apologies

Why women leave jobs in tech – and how to retain them

Findings from a survey by job site Indeed dive into the reasons why women leave their jobs in the tech industry.

Indeed surveyed 1,000 women in the field to learn more about why they leave the tech industry at a 45% higher rate than men. Here are some of the key reasons:

• Lack of career growth: This was the most common response, with 28% of women citing this as the reason for leaving their last job. The survey also found that women in tech believe that men have more opportunities for career growth – only 53% said they have the same opportunities to enter leadership roles as their male counterparts.
• Salary transparency and growth: Salary is a key factor in considering a new job, and 40% of survey respondents said they wish employers had been “more transparent” about salary during the interview process. Almost half (45%) of respondents said that wage growth is their top challenge once they’ve taken a job – and 33% of women said wage growth is a challenge they expect to have in their career. Women in tech also believe they’re paid less than men, and only 53% feel they can ask for a promotion or raise.
• Work-life balance: Regarding the benefits they consider most important, a flexible work schedule was the second most popular response (24%). Further, 28% of women said they believe they’ve been passed up for a promotion due to familial responsibilities.

What’s the solution? As per Fast Company, “Women said they’d like to see companies work toward gender-pay equity and empowering women to ask for promotions. And they’d like a more clearly defined path for switching roles within their company. Publicizing the process for internal mobility could help retain the 6 in 10 women who are interested in moving within the company.”

Similar points about hiring and retaining more women in tech were discussed at length at the inaugural Move the Dial Global Summit in November. One key point reinforced through the day was to be transparent with company data, both internally and publicly, to keep the company accountable. Another takeaway was for companies to gather diverse opinions and feedback (from employee resource groups, employee surveys, etc.) to gain a full picture of what it takes to retain women in the tech field.

Global unemployment hits lowest point in four decades

Global unemployment is at its lowest point in almost 40 years, according to an analysis by investment bank UBS, the Financial Times reported this week.

The global unemployment rate dropped from 8% in 2010 to 5.2% in September of this year – the lowest level since it hit 5% in 1980.

And, according to the Times, economists attribute the low unemployment rate to things like flexible work and lower wages.

“Arend Kapteyn, UBS chief economist, said that greater labor market flexibility since the financial crisis — due to factors such as lower wages and the advent of the gig economy — had helped lower the natural rate of unemployment in many countries.” (via the Times)

Another finding of note is that UBS found that the employment growth rate is accelerating, which goes against the notion that workers are being replaced in an increasingly automated world.

“This counters the ‘robots are taking our jobs thesis’,” said Charles Robertson, global chief economist at Renaissance Capital, an investment bank. “The world is the most automated it’s ever been, but has the lowest ever unemployment. (via the Times)

How to apologize to a co-worker

Crafting an appropriate apology takes work – and one size doesn’t fit all, psychologist and TED speaker Jennifer Thomas tells Time.

“Apologies really differ from person to person according to what their apology language is and so I found, for example, that saying, ‘I’m wrong and I’m sorry’ will reach 77% of people,” Thomas explains. “But the remaining 23% are waiting to hear three other things and that’s why we have our five apology languages.”

The five “apology languages” Thomas refers to are the result of research she conducted alongside “The 5 Love Languages” author Gary Chapman. The five apology languages are expressing regret, accepting responsibility, making restitution, genuinely repenting, and requesting forgiveness. When apologizing to a co-worker, Thomas says that trust is a key word.

“She recommends combining the two most popular apology languages: 40% of people most want to hear us say ‘I was wrong,’ while the other 40% of people most want to hear us say ‘I’m sorry.’ By combining the two, you may guarantee that you’ve crafted an apology that 80% of people will feel connected to.”

Also, don’t bring other people into the situation or blame others – take responsibility for your actions, says psychotherapist and author Amy Morin.