Working women under stress

Mary’s alarm goes off each morning at 6 a.m. and her usual response is a groan and the thought “How can I face another day?”

Mary is divorced and trying to raise three children. Although she receives child support and some help from her parents, she shoulders the major responsibility for providing the economic and emotional well being of her family. Her job as a secretary requires that she be at work from 8 to 5 p.m. five days a week. At work, Mary receives very little recognition for a job well done. Her identity and contribution blur together with other secretaries with whom she shares the workload. Parenting and working leave her little time for herself. Life isn’t bleak, but it tends to be blah, she thinks.


Medical evidence indicates a tremendous increase in the incidence of heart attacks among secretaries, typists, clerks, and bookkeepers, compared to homemakers and women in other professions. One reason seems to be that these offline workers are unable to express emotions such as anger and hostility. They feel they have to hold their feelings in for fear of losing their jobs. Many of them tend to work for employers and supervisors that are not supportive and appreciative.

The good salary that Mary earns doesn’t compensate for the emotional stress. In many ways, Mary feels like a number in a lottery pool. She performs silently, sometimes mechanically.

Mary begins to have painful headaches almost every weekend. The medication prescribed has such negative side effects that she spends much of her time in bed. Monday morning and that 6 a.m. alarm sounds before she knows it. When Mary realizes that her only free time is being spent in pain and discomfort, she decided to consult a counselor who tells her that stress reactions often occur on a delayed basis, that her weekend headaches are related to the lifestyle she undergoes during the week.

Cases similar to Mary’s are not uncommon. With increased frequency, leaders in industry and business are recognizing the need for stress management programs. Others also are instituting human relation programs to improve communication and morale within their organization. Many of these programs have proven to be extremely cost effective and have lowered the incidence of absenteeism and health care costs as evidenced by the company’s insurance program.

Estimates are that business and industry spend about 75 and 100 billion dollars annually because of job related stress which takes the form of absenteeism, diminished productivity and health care costs. Such innovations are flexible working hours, educating the workforce toward stress management techniques, updating management techniques, and offering counseling to employees have all been found to be effective. Many people in management positions admittedly need help in employee management skills.

One of the key problems occurring for many working women especially those without strong support systems outside the workplace is the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness that comes from a sense of perceived loss of control in one’s life. Feeling that there is nothing that can be done to change the situation, a feeling that whatever is done will do no good in the end, produces a feeling of depression and futility. Over a period of time these depressed feelings can lead to serious emotional difficulties.

Women who find themselves in “dead end” jobs, who feel that they are losing control in their lives, and who begin to lose their self respect, should inquire whether their company provides counseling, either in the form of employee assistance programs or some other counseling service. If this is not available, then finding a qualified professional mental health counselor should be considered.

Regaining a sense of control, believing in one’s own ability to produce change is vitally important to good mental health and a life filled with satisfaction and meaning. Mary, like many other single parents and working women, deserves a new perspective – one which will lead to more effective coping with stress in her life. When her 6 a.m. alarm sound she will arise knowing she can make the day.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1984