Managing the work–life roller-coaster: Private stress or public health issue?

Although research has established the importance for health of a sense of personal control at work, the implications of this for women have not been adequately studied. Using quantitative data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health and qualitative data from an associated study...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 2007-09, Vol.65 (6), p.1142-1153
Main Authors: Bryson, Lois, Warner-Smith, Penny, Brown, Peter, Fray, Leanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Australia
Biological and medical sciences
Control
Employment - psychology
Family studies
Female
Females
Gender
Gender Work and health Australia Managing work Managing life tensions Control Women
Humans
Labor Force Participation
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Managing life tensions
Managing work
Medical sciences
Mental health
Mental stress
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Public Health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of Life - psychology
Self-management
Sociology of work
Stress
Stress, Psychological
Victoria
Women
Women's employment
Work and health
Work Leisure Relationship
Work life balance
Work-Leisure conflict
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Summary:Although research has established the importance for health of a sense of personal control at work, the implications of this for women have not been adequately studied. Using quantitative data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health and qualitative data from an associated study, here we examine women's health and sense of control in relation to family and employment commitments. In line with other research, ‘demand over-load’ is found to be important for sense of control, but both ‘over-load’ and ‘control’ prove complex, as illustrated by the finding that good mental health is associated with satisfaction with, rather than actual, hours of employment. In the contemporary western context of longer working hours, increasing time strain, and gender relations shaped within a neo-liberal, individualised social environment, the findings suggest that as life speeds up, ‘control’ and the health effects of ‘busyness’, need to be understood not merely as personal matters, but rather as potentially important public health issues.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.04.027