Originally published here.

Women are more likely than men to report physical and emotional exhaustion related to paid work. While this gender gap in job burnout is common in the literature, the mechanism is yet to be thoroughly understood. Our study offers a novel, and admittedly provocative, explanation for the difference in burnout between men and women. We leverage a US survey rich in job and personal information to test whether theoretically relevant factors explain the gender gap in job burnout.

Our results suggest that they may not. Instead we find that workers’ perspectives regarding women’s role in society drive a large gender gap in job burnout. Specifically, “traditional” women are significantly more likely than men to report job burnout. Thus, providing support and resources to transform perceptions and attitudes regarding gender roles may help to reduce job-related burnout resulting from a mismatch between expectations and paid work experiences.

Family and work are quite possibly the two primary facets of life. Yet, the role expectations and responsibilities of each may often be intertwined and complicated. The resulting potential conflict between family and work can reduce job and life satisfaction for employees (Ford et al., 2007; Michel & Hargis, 2008; Carlson et al.,2009). Family and work are quite possibly the two primary facets of life. Yet, the roleexpectations and responsibilities of each may often be intertwined and complicated.The resulting potential conflict between family and work can reduce job and lifesatisfaction for employees (Ford et al., 2007; Michel & Hargis, 2008; Carlson et al.,2009).

You can read the complete article here.