{"id":191689,"date":"2017-07-29T18:46:41","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T18:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/georgia-uni-men-and-women-have-same-worklife-balance\/"},"modified":"2017-07-29T18:46:41","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T18:46:41","slug":"georgia-uni-men-and-women-have-same-worklife-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/georgia-uni-men-and-women-have-same-worklife-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Uni: men and women have same work\/life balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes and media accounts would have you believe that women struggle more with work-family conflicts than men do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But new research has shown that women and men report similar levels of this struggle – in terms of both work life interfering with family, and family interfering with work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study also revealed that men and women reported similar levels of work-family conflict regardless of the level of gender equality in their country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scroll down for video<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The researchers spent several years examining more than 350 studies conducted over three decades, which included\u00a0more than 250,000 participants from across the world<\/p>\n

WHAT THEY FOUND \u00a0<\/h3>\n

The study<\/a>, led by a researcher at the University of Georgia, was a meta-analysis: When data from multiple studies is combined to learn more about a specific area of research.<\/p>\n

The researchers spent several years examining more than 350 studies conducted over three decades, which included more than 250,000 participants from across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers also looked at ratings of gender equality in the countries where the studies were conducted, and were surprised to find that men and women reported similar levels of work-family conflict regardless of the gender equality levels of that country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While some minor differences were found between men and women when the data were divided into sub-groups, none of them were large.<\/p>\n

Mothers said they felt slightly greater family interference with work than fathers, as did women in couples were both partners were earners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By contrast, men in dual-earning couples said they felt slightly highers levels of work interference with family, which women also reported when the sub-group was restricted to men and women in the same occupations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study<\/a>, led by a researcher at the University of Georgia, was a meta-analysis – when data from multiple studies is combined to learn more about a specific area of research.<\/p>\n

The researchers spent several years examining more than 350 studies conducted over three decades, where half were published decades ago, and half were published in 2010 or later.<\/p>\n

These studies included more than 250,000 participants from across the world.<\/p>\n

‘We essentially found very little evidence of differences between women and men as far as the level of work-family conflict they report,’said Dr Kirsten Shockley, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Georgia and the lead author of the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘This is quite contrary to the common public perception.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘The way this issue is presented in the media frames the way we think about it, and it creates a perpetual cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Women hear that other women are struggling with this issue, so they expect they will experience greater work-family conflict.<\/p>\n

‘There also is some socialization for it being OK for women to talk more about it than men.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Previous research has found that men often don’t feel comfortable discussing work-family concerns because of fears of being stigmatized, threats to their masculinity or negative career repercussions.<\/p>\n

However, men may feel more comfortable discussing those conflicts in anonymous confidential surveys, such as those used in the studies analyzed.\u00a0<\/p>\n