Women and Stress at Work

Early in the 20th century, only one in seven women were employed outside the home. Today, most women work, with women constituting 47% of the labor force. A consequence of this is that women are now exposed to many workplace hazards, including occupational stress. Occupational (or job) stress is a prevalent problem in the United States, with between a third to nearly a half of workers routinely reporting high levels of job stress. Certain job conditions have been well-established as stressors. These include heavy workload demands, little control over work, unclear or conflicting job roles, poor relationships with coworkers and supervisors, and unchallenging, repetitive, or monotonous work. Women experience additional job stressors that may affect men to a lesser degree. Since women often have primary responsibility for children and household chores, achieving an acceptable work-family balance can be challenging.
 In some jobs in which women predominate, such as nursing and customer service, long or irregular hours, shiftwork, and stressful interactions with patients or customers are common.

High levels of job stress can have both short- and long-term health and behavioral consequences. Job stress has been linked with a host of health effects such as depression, anxiety, headaches, stomach aches, insomnia, fatigue, job dissatisfaction and burnout. Increasing evidence links job stress with chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease. Stress can also influence health behaviors related to the treatment or control of diseases. For example, high stress levels can be detrimental for diabetics by directly affecting blood glucose levels through physiological mechanisms or indirectly by affecting adherence to diet and activity regimens.

The traditional means of dealing with job stress has been through workplace health promotion programs, such as exercise programs and training in stress management techniques or through counseling offered by employee assistance programs (EAPs). However, while health promotion programs and EAPs may help employees better deal with job stress; they do not remove the sources of stress from the workplace. A better approach is one which combines efforts to identify and remove the sources of stress with programs to help employees better manage job stress. Job stressors can be identified through surveys and discussions with employees, and can be addressed through changes in workplace policies or job redesign (such as allowing greater employee discretion over how they complete their work). Workplace policies that address work schedule flexibility, telework, dependent care, and career development/advancement are particularly beneficial to women. Such efforts are most effective when done with employee input and participation, and provide long-term benefits to employee health and productivity.

Efforts to reduce or eliminate stressors need to be augmented with stress reduction techniques that can help employees immediately deal with the negative effects of job stress. These techniques can include relaxation training, training in coping techniques that reduce stress, wellness activities that target health behaviors that can impact stress, such as exercise or nutrition programs, and counseling programs that target psychological health. Especially for women, strong social networks, including those established in the workplace, can encourage participation in health screenings, treatment compliance, and establishment of healthier behaviors. Organizational policy considerations for lowering stress and improving overall health in the workplace are listed in below.

Teleworking and flex-schedule policies
Job-sharing, phased retirement options
Healthy commuting supports and incentives
Smoke-free building and campuses
Healthy foods, healthy meetings and green/sustainable environments policies
Peer support and mentoring programs
Policies promoting volunteering and community service
Time off work for health promotion, physical activity, screenings, healthcare visits
Robust non-discrimination, diversity and cultural awareness/sensitivity programs
Continuing education, distance learning, and other training supports
Incentives for health program participation and engagement

BY: Naomi Swanson, Ph.D., Chief of Organizational Science and Human Factors Branch, NIOSH
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