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Gender Differences in Perceived Work Demands, Family Demands, and Life Stress among Married Chinese Employees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Jaepil Choi  and
Chao C. Chen
Translated by
陈昭全
Jaepil Choi
Affiliation:
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
Chao C. Chen
Affiliation:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
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Abstract

Although gender-based division of labour and the identity theory of stress suggest that the relationship between work and family demands and life stress may vary as a function of gender, it is largely unknown whether these arguments are also valid in China. To address this gap in the existing literature, the current study investigates the gender differences in perceived work and family demands, and the effects of these perceived demands on the life stress of Chinese male and female employees. The study of 153 married Chinese employees found that Chinese women perceived a higher level of family demands than did Chinese men, whereas there was no significant gender difference in the perception of work demands. In addition, while perceived family demands were similarly related to life stress differently for men and women, perceived work demands were associated more strongly with the life stress of men than that of women.

Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , July 2006 , pp. 209 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2006

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