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Work and Health

A Gender Perspective

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Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health

Part of the book series: Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences ((HDBSOHS))

Abstract

While much research has been conducted on the relationship between psychosocial working conditions, particularly related to job demands and control, and health outcomes among men, less has been conducted on women. Globally, women have joined the workforce in large numbers over the past 50–70 years while still maintaining the lion’s share of unpaid housework. This chapter explores the existing research that examines the health outcomes of women as it relates to their changing roles in the workforce. The traditional frameworks that model job strain and health among men tend to demonstrate strong and consistent results for men but very inconsistent results for women. Often the results for women in relation to cardiovascular disease and hypertension are weaker or null. This existing evidence would suggest that frameworks that incorporate family or home demands and control in addition to work demands would best model the experiences of women. In analyses of such frameworks, stronger results are found for women for a number of health outcomes. Furthermore, public policies related to family leave and flexible work arrangements also provide long-run benefits to women in terms of both employment experiences and health gains.

The section on maternity leave policies is adapted from: Avendano M, Berkman LF (2014) Labor Markets and Employment Policies and Health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, Glymour MM (eds) Social epidemiology. Oxford University Press, pp 212–214

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Lisa F. Berkman & Kathryn Treder

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  1. Lisa F. Berkman
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  2. Kathryn Treder
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Correspondence to Lisa F. Berkman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Stockholms Län, Sweden

    Töres Theorell

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  1. Department of Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan

    Akizumi Tsutsumi

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Berkman, L.F., Treder, K. (2020). Work and Health. In: Theorell, T. (eds) Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05031-3_31-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05031-3_31-1

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