Having A Female Boss Could Be A Big Advantage

As exciting Friday might be, for most of us it's still another day at the office. So how are you getting through the rest of your work week? Is it the calling of the weekend? A constant influx of caffeine? Do you just genuinely love your job? Or, maybe it's having an amazing boss — especially if your boss is a woman. Employees are more likely to be engaged at work if they have female boss — six percentage points more than if they work for a male, according to a recent Gallup study.

So what are women doing that men aren't? It turns out that female employers are more likely to encourage employee development, check in on progress, provide positive feedback, set basic expectations for their employees, build relationships with their subordinates, encourage a positive team environment, and provide employees with opportunities to develop within their careers. I don't know about you, but these are definitely on my checklist for a good boss.

Besides the fact that my ovaries are applauding, this is important in a time when a staggering 87 percent of employees worldwide are lacking in workplace engagement.

Unfortunately, though, only about a third of Americans report that they have a female boss. Of the top five leadership positions at the companies in the S&P 500, only about 14 percent are held by women; furthermore, only 24 of these companies have female CEOS.

The good new is that although there aren't many of them, female bosses are actually more into their careers than their male counterparts.

"Gallup finds that 41 percent of female managers are engaged at work, compared with 35 percent of male managers," stated the study. "In fact, female managers of every working-age generation are more engaged than their male counterparts, regardless of whether they have children in their household."

I like how they had to clarify the "children" question. It's not like our male bosses have kids, right?

Anyway, the study also noted that the findings have "profound implications for the workplace." Why? Because if managers who are women are more engaged than managers who are men, then they're likely going to contribute to both the current and future success of their company — in other words, women in managerial positions could potentially lead to a great deal of company growth.

It's time to start promoting more women. After all, if employee engagement is linked to success, that's pretty important and female employees who work for a female manager are the most engaged dynamic in the workplace.

Gallup suggests one way to start hiring more women is to have talent-based selection decisions. Well, duh. It really can't be news that people should be hired based on how good they are at their jobs, is it?

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