Be a mom, it is the most beautiful job in the world. But also the most stressful. According to researchers at the University of Manchester and the Essex Institute for Social and Economic Research (UK), mothers who work full time are 18% more stressed than workers who do not have children. This figure would even rise to 40% for those who have two offspring. To reach these conclusions, scientists looked at 11 key indicators related to chronic stress.
Allostatic charge measurement
For the purposes of the study, published in the journal Sociology, the researchers analyzed data from 6,025 participants in the Understanding Society. This survey, conducted among British households, collects information on working life as well as measures relating to stress, such as hormone levels or blood pressure.
Linked together, these 11 indicators, called “ biomarkers “, Produce what is called a” allostatic load “. It is a measure of the negative consequences of stress on the body, which accumulate over time. It may thus indicate poor health and a higher risk of death. “Repeated stressful events resulting from the combination of social and environmental stressors and major traumatic life events lead to chronic stress, which in turn affects health”, develop researchers in a press release.
More flexible working practices
They found that these biomarkers were 40% higher among full-time workers raising two children than working women without toddlers. And if the sources of anxiety are not the same for all mothers, the main causes of this stress would be ” work-family conflicts “, explain the researchers.
But they also found that mothers working fewer hours – through part-time work, job sharing or flexible working conditions – had an allostatic load 37% lower than those without access to these. arrangements. On the other hand, those who benefited from flexible hours or at home, without an overall reduction in working time, did not see their stress decrease.
Neither working from home nor flexible hours therefore have an effect on the chronic stress level of women. Corn reduce the number of hours worked had a positive impact. “The purpose of flexible working practices is to enable employees to achieve a more satisfactory work-life balance, which should reduce work-family conflicts.”, note the scientists.
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