The men don’t feel it

Women are still not treated on par with men at the workplace. According to a survey by Kenexa Research Institute, an HR advisory firm based in the US, women experience more “unreasonable” stress than men at work although they deliver the same results across occupations.

56% of women surveyed said their stress level was reasonable, while 26% felt they were under unreasonable stress. The results were analysed on the basis of roles women were performing at work:

• front-line supervisory jobs, women experienced 10% additional stress than their male counterparts who carried out the same kind of functions.
• service and production-related jobs, women felt 8% additional stress.
• middle and upper manager level, the stress levels were up by 6% as compared to men.

The factors that lead to increased unreasonable stress included:

• work-life balance
• fair performance assessment,
• having a respectful manager
• being paid fairly and
• having a clear career path

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.

Brenda Kowske, Research Consultant, Kenexa Research Institute, said the research highlighted why there are fewer women in management roles. “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 their stress conditions, compared to men,” she added.