Over half, or 53%, of women globally say their stress levels are higher than they were a year ago, despite shifting work arrangements, according to a report from Deloitte.

The report also found that 46% of women worldwide said they feel burned out. This burnout is a top factor driving women away from their employers. Nearly 40% of women actively looking for a new employer cited it as the main reason. More than half of those surveyed want to leave their employer in the next two years, and 10% plan to stay with their current employer for more than five years.

Deloitte polled 5,000 women across 10 countries. Their research showed that almost half of the women surveyed rated their mental health as poor/very poor. One-third have taken time off work because of mental-health challenges, yet 43% feel comfortable talking about mental-health concerns in the workplace.

Meanwhile, a third, or 33%, of women have taken time off work due to mental health challenges. At the same time, 39% said they feel comfortable disclosing mental health challenges as the reason for their absence.

The number of women looking for a new role at the time of polling increased since last year’s survey, with 10% saying they were actively looking. Deloitte’s research showed that 40% of that group cited burnout as the top reason driving them away.

For those who had already left an employer since the start of the pandemic, a lack of opportunities to advance was the most cited reason (22%). When it comes to future plans, more than half of women plan to leave their employer within two years. This is more pronounced for those in middle-management and non-managerial roles, with fewer than one-quarter of women in those roles planning to stay with their employer for more than two years. Only 10% of women surveyed plan to stay with their current employer for more than five years.

While many organisations over the past year have pivoted workplace strategies to incorporate flexible and hybrid work models, many women report they have yet to feel the benefits of these new ways of working. A third, or 33%, of women say their employers offer flexible-working policies, and when asked about policies their organisation had introduced during the pandemic, 22% cited flexibility around where and when they work. Moreover, 94% of respondents believe that requesting flexible working will affect their likelihood of promotion.

“Despite the fact that many employers have implemented new ways of working designed to improve flexibility, our research shows that the new arrangements run the risk of excluding the very people who could most benefit from them, with the majority of the women we polled having experienced exclusion when working in a hybrid environment,” said Emma Codd, Deloitte Global Inclusion Leader. “The number of women reporting increased stress and burnout is of significant concern, and employers are struggling to address it as seen by the fact that burnout is the top driver for those women currently looking for new employment.”

Nearly 60% of women who work in hybrid environments feel they have been excluded from important meetings, and 45% say they do not have enough exposure to leaders, a critical component of sponsorship and career progression. Worryingly, hybrid work appears to not be delivering the predictability that women with caregiving responsibilities may need, with 26% saying their employer has set clear expectations when it comes to how and where they are expected to work.