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Gender, work roles and psychosocial work characteristics as determinants of health

Author

Listed:
  • Matthews, Sharon
  • Hertzman, Clyde
  • Ostry, Aleck
  • Power, Chris

Abstract

This paper aims to identify gender similarities and differences in psychosocial work characteristics for those in and out of paid employment, to inform research on possible health-related effects. Specifically five questions are addressed: do women report poorer work characteristics than men; are gender differences related to specific characteristics; do work characteristics differ between full- and part-time women workers and between those in paid and unpaid work; are socio-economic gradients in work characteristics similar for men and women; and, if there are gradients, do they differ between women in paid and unpaid work? Analyses are based on the 33Â year follow-up of the 1958 British birth cohort. Four psychosocial work characteristics were examined: learning opportunities, monotony, pace of work, and flexibility of breaks. Women reported more negative work characteristics than men, primarily because of differences in learning opportunities (26% lacked opportunity compared with 13% of men) and monotonous work (47 and 31% respectively). Women in full-time employment reported fewer negative characteristics (27%) than part-time (39%) or home-workers (36%). Home-workers had fewer opportunities for learning (36%) and greater monotony (49%) than paid workers (21 and 22% respectively), however fewer home-workers reported inability to control the work pace (11% compared to 23%) and inflexibility of breaks (21% compared to 47%). Socio-economic gradients in work characteristics were similar among men and women, except for flexibility of break times. A socio-economic gradient in work characteristics was found for full- and part-time workers, but not among home-workers. Differences in self reported health were also examined: a social gradient was found for all employment status groups, being strongest for home-workers despite the absence of a gradient in negative work characteristics. In conclusion, these marked gender differences in psychosocial work characteristics need to be considered in future research on work and health.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthews, Sharon & Hertzman, Clyde & Ostry, Aleck & Power, Chris, 1998. "Gender, work roles and psychosocial work characteristics as determinants of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(11), pages 1417-1424, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:46:y:1998:i:11:p:1417-1424
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Li, Jian & Yang, Wenjie & Cho, Sung-il, 2006. "Gender differences in job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and health functioning among Chinese physicians," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(5), pages 1066-1077, March.
    2. Max Henderson & Charlotte Clark & Stephen Stansfeld & Matthew Hotopf, 2012. "A Lifecourse Approach to Long-Term Sickness Absence—A Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-7, May.
    3. Trevor Peckham & Noah Seixas & A. B. de Castro & Anjum Hajat, 2022. "Do Different Patterns of Employment Quality Contribute to Gender Health Inequities in the U.S.? A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Barron, David Nicholas & West, Elizabeth, 2007. "The emotional costs of caring incurred by men and women in the British labour market," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 2160-2171, November.
    5. Sperlich, Stefanie & Geyer, Siegfried, 2015. "The mediating effect of effort-reward imbalance in household and family work on the relationship between education and women's health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 58-65.
    6. Stefanie Sperlich & Siegfried Geyer, 2015. "The impact of social and family-related factors on women’s stress experience in household and family work," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(3), pages 375-387, March.
    7. Kim, Il-Ho & Muntaner, Carles & Khang, Young-Ho & Paek, Domyung & Cho, Sung-Il, 2006. "The relationship between nonstandard working and mental health in a representative sample of the South Korean population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 566-574, August.

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