Women experience more stress at work than men

Work-related stress is widespread among women
Certainly, most people are likely to know this problem: our work can lead to stress. Researchers now found that women suffer much more from stress at work than men. For example, sexism in the workplace, existing family responsibilities, lack of support and unequal wages are responsible for this.

Physicians and psychiatrists have found in various studies that women, compared to men, suffer more from the stress in the workplace. As a result of the stress that often occurs, anxiety and depression develop in the affected women.

Stress in the workplace can be a big psychological burden. Experts explain that women are particularly vulnerable to stress in the workplace. (Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / fotolia.com)

Women aged 35 to 44 are particularly stressed
Official figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that women between 25 and 54 years of age suffer more from stress at work than male colleagues. At the age of 35 to 44 years this stress reaches its maximum value. At this age, most women have a significantly increased burden. In addition to the stress at work, there are also duties in the family, such as the education of pubescent children and the care of their own parents. The double burden of work and family makes many women feel drained, explains psychiatrist Dr. med. Judith Mohring opposite the magazine The Guardian.

Women suffer additional pressure in the workplace
In addition, there is often the burden in the workplace. Women often suffer from additional career pressure and sexism at work, say the Egyptians. Also, the often unequal pay, intense pressure in the restructuring of the company and a lack of support from the management complicate the working life of women, explain the experts. Often, women also feel that they have to prove to be as good as their male counterparts in their job, says psychiatrist Dr. Mohring.

Burden particularly high in female management
Female managers in male dominated areas find the burden of their work sometimes unbearable. The general stress was even increased because the families of the women were even more dependent on the earned income. Dr. Mohring now urges companies to require women to work more flexibly and better secure their careers. In addition, the work must offer better career opportunities.

Businesses should offer work from home
If companies and organizations want their talented employees to be less stressed out, they should consider concepts such as work from home. Such a concept would be an important step forward. Mohring.

Problems in the professional life of women
Women are also often unhappy because they receive lower wages than their male employees. Lack of potential for career advancement and overall job insecurity also often causes problems. Endemic uncertainty exists in many jobs and women often bear the brunt, the expert adds. Job restructuring is associated with a disproportionate risk to many women. Many changes in the organization of work lead to increased stress rather than increased productivity. This fact in itself acts counterproductive.

Men have a significantly lower workload rate
From the age of 25, women feel significantly more stressed than men. This effect then runs through her entire working life. Men between the ages of 16 to 24 years, 25 to 34 years, and 35 to 44 years have significantly lower workload rates. Those with the highest rates were men between the ages of 45 and 54 years. But this rate is not statistically significant.

Career choice of women influences stress factor
Women aged 25 to 34 years, 35 to 44 years and 45 to 54 years all had a workload higher than the average. This fact could also be blamed on women's occupations. Women work more often as teachers or in nursing. The occupations and industries with the highest workload are in the health and public sectors of the economy.

Effects of stress, depression and anxiety at work
As a result of work-related stress, depression and anxiety, 37 percent of work-related illnesses and about 45 percent of absenteeism occurred between 2015 and 2016, a further study by the Health and Safety Executive revealed. The figures are based on the Labor Force Survey, which interviews 38,000 households on a quarterly basis. The survey is the government's primary employment database. About 200,000 men reported work-related stress on average over the past three years. In comparison, 272,000 women suffer from work-related stress. This means that women are about 1.4 times more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety and depression, reports The Guardian. (As)