Occupational well-being: sex differences at work

Abstract

This paper describes a series of studies concerned with the nature and measurement of well-being in industrial workers. It examines the possibility that sex differences exist in the experiences and reporting of symptoms of ill health in this working population.

No fundamental differences in the nature of well-being were found between male and female workers. However, working women were shown to report poorer well-being than working men, controlling for the age of the workers. The effects of marital status and family size were also considered. Married women workers were shown to be healthier by self-report than non-married women, although family size had little effect. This pattern of results is discussed in terms of the demands constraints and social supports operating at work and in the home.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

SUE COX

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Medical Research Council. The views expressed here are those of the authors.