Are Women more stressed than Men at work?

New research has revealed that women feel more stressed than men at work – with 1 in 10 feeling like their stress levels are unmanageable.

According to Cigna, whose research was taken from the Cigna 360 Wellbeing Survey, heavy workloads, personal health, and financial concerns are the top stress triggers for women in the UK.

Almost 8 in 10 reported not getting enough sleep compared to 65% of men not getting enough rest. The survey reported that men are sleeping more, undertake more exercise, and, on the whole, are eating healthier.

Cigna’s findings also mirror 2016 figures published by the Health and Safety Executive which found that from the age of 25 onwards UK women feel much more stress than men – continuing throughout their working life.

But why are women more stressed at work?

Two years ago, Dr. Judith Mohring, Lead Consultant Psychiatrist at Priory’s Wellbeing Centre in the City of London told a Guardian report that women often had to balance work and family life.

Institutionalised inequality in the workplace, such as men being perceived as better choices for certain roles than women, and female employees not being paid as much or promoted as regularly, also played a part.

So, what can HR do?

  • Flexible working can help.
  • As can higher pay and better job security.
  • Having more equal dress codes could also do the trick.

Other improvements could be more structural. The gender pay gap and lack of women in senior roles could be down to the fact that women are recruited less at entry-level.

But is all of this true? Are Women more stressed then Men at work? What are your thoughts?

Source – https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/2019-03-25-women-more-stressed-than-men-at-work

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