What We Can Do to Help Reduce Work Stress for Women?

What is Stress?

Stress is neither a mental health problem nor a disease, but it becomes a serious problem for a person’s mental health if it continues for a long time. Stress can be caused by a major change in life or a major change in surroundings, i.e, divorce, losing a job, getting a job, workplace tensions, etc. Stress is not gender specific, but in a working context, stress is mostly common in women.

Women and Stress

Working women have the pressure of workplace stress and strain. This issue among working women is not a new phenomenon. Male employees lost just 0.44 days annually from stress, anxiety, or depression, compared to an average of 0.91 days for female employees. In addition to the effects of general job stressors like task overload and underutilization of skills, gender-specific work stress factors like sex discrimination and balancing obligations at work and home may also have an impact on women workers. Women are more likely to balance many responsibilities, such as parenthood, work, household duties, and occasionally even being the main provider for their families, especially between the ages of 35 and 54. Does this, however, account for the majority of women's workplace stress? Let us discover.

It has been established by experts that men and women react differently to stress. Women workers manage and overcome stress differently from men. While they can easily manage multiple tasks at the same time, they react differently to work stress as compared to men. A survey from America, the Middle East, and Asia suggests that working women are more liable to physical and emotional issues caused by stress than men.

Why do women mostly have to deal with work-related stress?

Excessive responsibilities

Most women have to balance their household chores and workplace responsibilities, making them anxious in both places. When the workload goes beyond a limit, they become really stressed and tense. It is the main issue for most working women and a reason for them to miss work.

Work atmosphere

Work atmosphere and gender discrimination results are the main reasons for working women being stressed and tense. In an environment mainly dominated by men, women have to deal with more stress. This issue, when combined with household tensions, working women are likely to miss work from stress.

Income disparities

 78 to 82 percent of women have to deal with the inequality in salaries, too, and this problem is also a reason for women being stressed and anxious.

Unhealthy work culture

Two-thirds of working women in the US report a toxic work culture. They have to deal with emotional abuse and sexual harassment in their workplace. Also, working women have no mental and emotional support even at their homes.

Hormonal changes

Women over 55 have to deal with menopause, which affects their self-esteem and mental health at the workplace. During this phase of life, women have to deal with anxiety, low concentration, and mood swings. This is also a reason why women are most likely to miss work due to stress.

What Are the Main Symptoms of Stress on Working Women?
Stress can cause various issues in women, like:

1. Stomach problems

Stress can cause various stomach problems like bloating, vomiting, diarrhoea, gas, and cause bowel syndrome, which is more common in women.

2. Weight gain

Women become more unhealthy and obese due to stressful environments as compared to men.

3. Hormonal issues

Women have to deal with hormonal issues like an imbalance in the levels of testosterone, estrogen, etc.

4. Heart issues

Work-related stress increases blood pressure and heart rate, which can cause heart attacks in women.

5. Migraines and body pain

They are more common in working women due to the stress they face at their workplace.

What can employers do about this issue common among women?

1. Focus on work-life balance

Employers should allow leaves and flexible work timings so it is easy for women to manage their household chores as well as workplace chores. Many women work more efficiently from home than in an onsite workplace. Working women should be allowed to be flexible in terms of timings and place. And that is where the company HR can play a significant role, from effective strategies to useful activities, HR can plan efficient solutions. HR students might face this kind of questions in HR assignments to create strategies that can help reduce the stress of women at work.

2. Make a healthy work environment

Employers should enforce policies that create an inclusive work environment for working women. Minimizing emotional abuse and sexual harassment for working women can lead to better mental health for working women. It will also make them feel comfortable and confident at their workplace.

3. Offer stress relief programs

Employers must offer stress relief programs as they will reduce the stress and anxiety of working women, and they will work more efficiently.

4. Rewards for performance

Working women are easily motivated and confident when their work is acknowledged at the workplace. Such rewards also minimize the income inequalities among women and make them happy.

What can working women do on their own to minimize their stress?

1. Doing activities that they enjoy and love so they feel fresh and happy mentally.

2 Spending time with family, friends, and loved ones reduces stress.

3. Doing self-care at least once a week because it increases confidence and lifts the mood.

4. Setting boundaries at the workplace.

5. Asking for assistance when it is needed.

Conclusion

Working women have to deal with a lot of stress and strain at the workplace due to excessive responsibilities, income inequalities, unhealthy work culture, hormonal changes, and an unsuitable work environment. They are most likely to miss their work from stress, as compared to men, because they react differently when stressed out. The main symptoms of work-related stress in women are stomach problems, heart problems, and other physical issues.

Working women can assist themselves too when stressed by focusing more on themselves. This can also be assisted by the employers if they create a healthy workplace, end pay gaps, offer rewards & benefits for women, provide stress relief programs, and create a stress-free environment for working women.