One-third of employees have chronic stress as a result of work, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association, but for women, the news is worse: they reported feeling higher stress levels than the men surveyed, as well as a greater sense of being “stuck” in jobs with no room for advancement.
As you might have guessed, the economy is at least partly to blame. Covering the survey, The Wall Street Journal theorized that “women’s stress is rising as families rely more on women’s earnings. An employed wife’s contribution to family earnings has hovered, on average, at 47 percent since 2009. But in that year, it jumped from 45 percent.” That’s the biggest single-year increase in twenty years, according to University of New Hampshire sociology professor Kristin Smith.
Another economic factor at play: the gender wage gap. Thirty-eight percent of women surveyed said that they weren’t being paid well enough for their work, while only 27 percent of men felt slighted in the paycheck department. That’s enough to stress anyone out.
Tell Us What You Think
We want to hear from you! Do you think women experience more work stress than men? Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter, using the hashtag #MakeItHappen.
More from PayScale
3 Things That Women Want at Work
Top 5 Worst Bosses [Infographic]
How to Make the Hiring Process Less Painful [infographic]
(Photo Credit: Senator Kate Lundy/Flickr)
Leave a Reply