Women more vulnerable to stress at work
By siliconindia   |   Saturday, 24 July 2010, 19:33 IST   |    41 Comments
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Women more vulnerable to stress at work
Bangalore: Across roles, more women experience unreasonable amount of stress than men do. 56 percent women said their stress level was reasonable, while 26 percent felt they were under unreasonable stress, according to a survey conducted by Kenexa Research Institute. While doing front-line supervisory jobs, women experienced 10 percent additional stress than their male counterparts who carried out the same kind of functions. In service and production-related jobs, women felt 8 percent additional stress, reports Mini Joseph Tejaswi from Times News Network. The study revealed that factors including work-life balance, doing exciting work, having a respectful manager, being paid fairly and having a clear career path had a direct impact on the work stress among women. Looking at the difference between genders, results show that women work stress is more related to managerial support and equal opportunity, whereas men's stress drivers focus more on product quality and trust in senior leadership. "This research may partially explain why there are fewer women in the management roles. The media and academia have substantiated the existence of the glass ceiling. Women fight the commonly held perception that they may lack the motivation to climb the corporate ladder, and our data indicate that fewer women feel that achieving career goals are likely while maintaining a balance between personal and professional lives. All these factors increase stress levels for women workers. Again, women are more open to report stress conditions, compared to men," said Brenda Kowske, research consultant, Kenexa Research Institute. The survey was carried out in 19 countries, including India, which found out that more women experienced unreasonable amount of stress than men did. While doing front-line supervisory jobs, women experienced 10 percent additional stress than their male counterparts who carried out the same functions. In service and production-related jobs, women felt 8 percent additional stress. At middle and upper manager level, the stress levels were up by 6 percent as compared to men. Payment parity, equal opportunities, career growth and fair performance assessment are some of the key concerns that kept working women under unreasonable stress. Results show women work stress is more related to managerial support and equal opportunity, whereas men's stress drivers focus on product quality and trust in senior leadership.

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