Is your job bumming you out? If so, you're not alone. A recent study by the University of Calgary looked at the relationship between full-time work and clinical depression, and found that career pressure can influence mental health differently, depending on whether you're a man or a woman.
Over the course of three years, researchers observed 2,700 participants, both male and female, who were not diagnosed with depression at the start of the study. Participants were asked questions about their jobs, including levels of job-related stress and their perceptions of how well rewarded they were for their work.
Within a year, 3.6 percent were diagnosed with depression. Women clocked in at 4.6 percent; men at 2.9.
Unsurprisingly, both sexes reported feeling depressed if they were worried about losing their jobs. In addition, both experienced higher levels of depression if they were experiencing conflicts between family and work, although the exact causes were slightly different: men reported feeling stressed if their family life interfered with their work, while women cited work life interfering with their home life.
Women also seemed to suffer from feeling underappreciated at work. Those who felt inadequately rewarded at their jobs were more likely to feel depressed, a connection that the study did not find in men. Job strain affected men more keenly than women, however; men who reported themselves to be under a high degree of strain were more depressed, while women seemed indifferent to the level of on-the-job stress.
Researchers noted that larger studies with more participants would be required to confirm the results.
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(Photo Credit: Passive Income Dream.com/Flickr)
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