Nearly half of women workers (45%) feel burned out from work

Women who experience work burnout are significantly more likely than women who rarely or never experience mental exhaustion due to their job to:

One in six (17%) women workers cite worsening work-life balance, with flexibility arising as a key factor

Among women workers who have experienced year-over-year declines in work-life balance, increased workload is the leading reason (50%), while 26% also cite having taken on a more demanding role within their company. Work-life balance, however, is not just about how much work, or the type of work women are facing:

Among women workers who cite improved work-life balance over the previous year, flexibility is the leading factor (57%), far ahead of decreasing workloads (19%) or having a less demanding role (21%).

Work-life balance is also a leading cause of churn for women workers

One in four (27%) women workers have considered quitting their current job (21%), or have quit their job (6%) within the past 12 months. 

One in three women workers (36%) cite work-life balance as the main reason for staying in their current job, while a similar percentage also cite having a flexible work arrangement (hybrid/remote, work hours).

Diversity and inclusion initiatives remain an important role for women in the workplace

Nearly one in four (22%) of women workers feel like it is more difficult to be themselves at work compared to one year ago. Although only 14% say their organization is less diverse, and 14% say there are fewer opportunities at work targeted to women compared to three years ago, such initiatives have a substantial impact on women’s experience in the workplace. Compared to those who saw an increase in women-specific initiatives, those who cite a decline are:

Younger women workers are more likely to cite a positive impact of diversity initiatives on their career:

30% of Gen Z workers say such initiatives have helped their career, compared to 23% of Millennials, 14% of Gen Xers, and 10% of Boomers.

General purpose AI chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT are the leading AI tools for workers, as one in four (27%) American workers are using the technology on a weekly or daily basis

Among those who use AI, more than half (55%) are using general purpose AI chatbots, such as Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT. One in four (27%) are using AI integrated with existing tools and software. Only 12% are using proprietary, internal, or custom AI tools. 

Despite optimism for AI, workers express concerns over lack of training, job losses, and increased workloads surrounding AI

Workers who use AI overwhelmingly believe that AI is a valuable assistant and collaborator, and near four in ten  (37%) believe it almost feels like cheating at their job. Despite the support for AI, concerns also rise:

Women are more likely to feel guilty for using AI, while men have stronger feelings of feeling left behind

Among users of AI (use it Multiple times a day, About once a day, A few times a week, A few times a month, A few times a year):

Methodology: This SurveyMonkey study was conducted February 10-16, 2026 among a national sample of 6,330 adults, including 3,048 women. Respondents for this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 1.5 percentage point. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.