THE PERCEPTION OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN ABOUT THEIR JOB AND ITS EFFECTS ON PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL BEING

Abstract

Objective: The study was conducted to identify the stressors at work faced by the professional women
and their impact on their psychosocial well being.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Subjects and Methods: 150 women from Medical, Teaching and Secretarial professions were selected
with the help of random sampling technique. They were interviewed through a structured questionnaire.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 32 years. The mean duration of job was 8 years. 57% of
the participants were married, 43% were single. 48% were availing the facilities like accommodation,
transport, medical and education of children provided by the employers while 52% were working without
any additional facilities. 48% were working in shifts and 52% had fixed job timings. Among those working
in shifts 71% perceived that there work has affected their psychosocial well-being. Limited careermaking opportunities (74%), lack of participation in decision making processes (77%), lack of social
support at work (30%) were identified as major job stressors. 28% of the respondents reported their
psychosocial and physical problems as concurrent to job stressors.
Conclusion: Decision latitude (control), job timings, limited opportunities for career development and
lack of social support at work were the major work stressors which were perceived by the professional
women to affect their psychosocial well-being .
Key words: Job stressors, Women, Profession, Psychological impacts