Study Shows Women Are Less Likely To Ask For Deadline Extensions Than Men. Not Surprised
You know that awkward moment when you have to ask your boss or team leadee for deadline extensions? I mean, am I the only one who gets all nervous and sweaty when I’m going to ask for it? Well, the answer to that question is no. In fact, a study that was recently published showed that women are more reluctant than men to ask for deadline extensions. I’m so glad somebody decided to study this because now I know that I’m not the only one who gets all anxious-y.
A study conducted by Grant Donnely, Ashley Whillans, Jaewon Yoon, and Aurora Turek shows that women are less likely to ask for deadline extensions as compared to men as they are concerned that they’d be burdening others by doing so or will appear incompetent to finish the task. The research involved nine studies and had more than 5000 participants that were inclusive of working adults and undergraduate students.
The new study that was published on November 1, 2021 shows that very few women would ask for more time to complete a project that has adjustable deadlines at work or at school. In fact, a previous study also showed that women tend to take more stress than men and one of the reasons for that would be the fact that they feel uncomfortable asking for more time to finish a project.
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Grant Donnelly who is a co-author of the study said, “Women understandably feel like they have too many things to do and not enough time to do them. We found that not asking for more time to complete tasks undermines women’s well-being and also their performance… But we also found a possible solution: Women were as likely to ask for deadline extensions as men when organizations had formal policies on making deadline extension requests.”
Talking about the study that he conducted in his own class, Donnelly found, “When students requested an extension, they made good use of that time and performed better on the task… Women may hurt themselves by not requesting additional time.”
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Grant Donnely who was a key member of the study explained that the problem was the women’s concern was their perceived burden and their emotions of shame, embarrassment, and guilt that stopped them from asking for deadline extensions. The study also helped them to reach a solution to this problem. According to Donnelly, “It’s a structural issue. When organizations have formal policies about deadlines, it creates the opportunity for men and women to have equal experiences for requesting additional time… And we found evidence that allowing deadline extensions, when possible, can result in better work. That’s helpful for employers and employees.”
This study helps us understand the way women think and behave better – so much better. I mean, I can relate to the study since I tend to put extra pressure on myself to finish my task before the deadline so that I don’t have to go ahead and ask for extensions. Cause for me that’s quite nerve-wracking.
First Published: November 03, 2021 8:17 PM
