# Overwork leads 37% of women to postpone health checkups and raises a warning for companies

A Catho study reveals the impact of corporate routines on women's preventive health and reinforces the urgency of well-being policies in organizations.

- Section: Longevity
- Published: October 19, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/overwork-leads-37-of-women-to-postpone-health-checkups-and-raises
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/excesso-de-trabalho-leva-37-das-mulheres-a-adiar-exames-de-saude-e-ace.md

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## Key points

- Catho survey: 37% of professional women in Brazil have postponed or skipped preventive exams because of work.
- The reasons are pressure for targets, fear of stigma and lack of schedule flexibility; the burden is greater among managers with double or triple workloads.
- Companies are responding with mobile mammography at headquarters, lab services at the office, telemedicine and paid time off for exams.

A recent study by recruitment platform Catho found that 37% of professional women in Brazil have postponed or skipped preventive medical exams because of demands and overload at work. The survey exposes the contradictions between companies' official quality-of-life discourse and their operational routine. The figure is now squarely on the radar of CEOs, VPs and executive directors, who see preventive health not only as a humanitarian or diversity issue, but as a critical driver of operational efficiency, governance and market value.

The research shows that pressure for short-term targets, fear of professional stigma and the lack of clear policies allowing flexible schedules for appointments are the main reasons people put off their health care. The impact is even more pronounced among women executives, managers and middle leaders who carry double or triple workloads, adding corporate responsibilities to family and household tasks. For the C-level, the forced neglect of preventive medicine is a silent risk that can deprive the organization of its main female leaders because of late diagnoses and long-term leave.

From the standpoint of corporate governance and the social (S) pillar of ESG metrics, the cost of postponing preventive health directly affects a company's financial health. Delaying periodic and screening exams, such as mammograms, Pap smears and ultrasounds, backfires in the medium and long term, sharply raising the cost of corporate health plan claims, increasing absenteeism, lowering productivity and causing an immeasurable loss of intellectual capital. That is why boards of directors are treating population health management as a business risk metric, as relevant as regulatory compliance and asset management.

The deterioration of women's preventive health is also closely tied to higher indirect costs, such as overloading the remaining team members and unplanned turnover. When a professional has to take leave for medical complications that could have been diagnosed early, the company faces substantial costs for temporary replacement, loss of project history and faster burnout among the rest of the team. Mitigating these vulnerabilities has become a fixed item on the agenda of executive meetings and people committees.

Analyzing how this diagnosis is taking hold in corporations, leadership specialists stress that primary prevention must be led from the top of the organization. Policies such as zero tolerance for chronic overload, granting a "health day off" and VPs explicitly encouraging their teams to have preventive exams are low-cost, very high-ROI measures. When senior management validates and practices self-care, it opens the way for deep cultural change in the company.

To reverse the picture the study shows, large companies are redesigning their benefit packages and working hours. Initiatives sponsored directly by the CEO, such as mobile mammography at headquarters, partnerships with labs for in-company services, integrating telemedicine into the executive routine and fully paid time off for preventive exams, are gaining traction in the Brazilian market. Companies that take an active approach to preventive health report concrete gains in employer branding and greater appeal when hiring for leadership roles.

HR analysts and business consultants stress that senior leadership should see promoting women's health as a strategic lever for retaining talent and for real gender equity. Creating psychologically safe environments, where the balance between productivity and medical prevention is legitimized by directors and board members, becomes a crucial competitive advantage. Control over one's schedule and flexibility are no longer seen as concessions, but as pillars of corporate sustainability.

By showing that more than a third of working women postpone medical care for professional reasons, the Catho survey calls on the C-level to reassess time management and work culture. Moving from a reactive, costly model of medical care to governance focused on primary preventive medicine is an economic and strategic imperative, essential to secure the longevity of businesses and of their teams in today's market.

## Sources and editorial notes

- Reference reporting: Meio & Mensagem, Catho, Exame, Valor Econômico.

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