A new study shows that we are more stressed at home than in the office, but that perceptions of this stress vary by gender.
The parents of several children will not say the opposite: between meals, laundry, crying and ailments, life at home is often more stressful than at the office. But let parents be reassured: this kind of feeling is very common, as a study from the University of Pennsylvania attests.
The researchers took three swabs per day from the inside of the cheeks of 122 people to measure the participants’ cortisol levels. Cortisol is the main stress hormone, the level of which increases in the event of the situation. They also asked participants to rate their state of mind at home and at work. Results: The level of cortisol was much lower when the participants were at work than when they were at home. A difference that seems to hold true for all socio-economic statuses, and whether or not the participants have children. According to Sarah Damaske, sociologist and one of the study’s authors, these results come from the fact that at work “people do one thing at a time. They can focus their attention and are not doing multiple things at the same time, ”as is often the case at home.
However, the study also shows that participants are the least stressed during the weekend. For Sarah Damaske: “I don’t think home is stressful. On Saturdays you don’t work. You go to the park, you do the laundry late. The day is going slower… In fact it is the combination of the two, office and home, that makes home such a stressful place for people during the week ”.
Regarding the perception of stress, the study highlighted differences according to gender: for example, a small majority of men answered that they were happier at home than at work, while a large majority of women said they were less stressed in the office. This difference in perception could come from the fact that women are always much more invested than men in the life of the house, whether it is the education of children or domestic tasks. Another answer put forward by the authors of the study: if you hate your job, it would be better to resign for a woman than for a man.
Stress and high cortisol levels are associated with many illnesses including high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer.
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