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The emotional costs of caring incurred by men and women in the British labour market

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  • Barron, David Nicholas
  • West, Elizabeth

Abstract

This study investigates whether men and women in caring occupations experience more negative job-related feelings at the end of the day compared to the rest of the working population. The data are from Wave Nine of the British Household Panel Survey (1999) where respondents were asked whether, at the end of the working day, they tended to keep worrying or have trouble unwinding, and the extent to which work left them feeling exhausted or "used up." Their responses to these questions were used to develop ordinal dependent variables. Control variables in the models include: number of children, age, hours worked per week, managerial responsibilities and job satisfaction, all of which have been shown in previous research to be significantly related to "job burnout." The results are that those in caring occupations are more likely to feel worried, tense, drained and exhausted at the end of the working day. Women in particular appear to pay a high emotional cost for working in caring occupations. Men do not emerge unscathed, but report significantly lower levels of worry and exhaustion at the end of the day than do women.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:10:p:2160-2171
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dill, Janette & Erickson, Rebecca J. & Diefendorff, James M., 2016. "Motivation in caring labor: Implications for the well-being and employment outcomes of nurses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 99-106.
    2. Pudrovska, Tetyana & Carr, Deborah & McFarland, Michael & Collins, Caitlyn, 2013. "Higher-status occupations and breast cancer: A life-course stress approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 53-61.

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