VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA: Working mothers up to 40% more stressed, study finds

Press/Media: Research

Description

Biomarkers for chronic stress are 40% higher in women bringing up two children while working full-time, new research has found.

Working from home and flexitime have no effect on their level of chronic stress – only putting in fewer hours at work helps, says an article in the journal Sociology.

Professor Tarani Chandola of The University of Manchester, and Dr Cara Booker, Professor Meena Kumari and Professor Michaela Benzeval of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex analysed data on 6,025 participants in Understanding Society’s UK Household Longitudinal Survey, which collects information on working life and readings of measures of stress response, including hormones levels and blood pressure.

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/working-mothers-up-to-40-more-stressed/

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/biancabarratt/2019/02/06/working-mothers-prove-that-gender-equality-has-a-long-way-to-go/#40f72363c23a

Sydney Morning Herald: https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/the-increased-stress-felt-by-working-mothers-has-finally-been-measured/ar-BBTclkF

Period6 Feb 2019

Media coverage

2

Media coverage

  • TitleFORBES: Working Mothers Prove That Gender Equality Has A Long Way To Go
    Media name/outletForbes
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    Date6/02/19
    DescriptionAccording to researchers, working mothers are 18% more stressed than other people - and the figure rises to 40% for those with two children.

    A group of academics from Manchester University and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University conducted an experiment that studied 11 indicators of chronic stress (such as hormone and blood pressure changes) collected from 6025 women and found that working mothers showed significantly increased levels.
    URLhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/biancabarratt/2019/02/06/working-mothers-prove-that-gender-equality-has-a-long-way-to-go/#40f72363c23a
    PersonsTarani Chandola
  • TitleThe increased stress felt by working mothers has finally been measured
    Media name/outletSydney Morning Herald
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryAustralia
    Date6/02/19
    DescriptionHere’s some validation for working mothers: university research has shown their sense of stress is measurable – they are 18 per cent more stressed than other people.

    Researchers from Manchester University and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University in the UK looked at 11 indicators of chronic stress, including blood pressure and hormones, in 6025 women; they found that working mothers of two children record 40 per cent higher levels on those stress indicators.
    URLhttps://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/the-increased-stress-felt-by-working-mothers-has-finally-been-measured/ar-BBTclkF
    PersonsTarani Chandola
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Keywords

  • stress
  • motherhood
  • gender equality
  • work life balance