Job Pressures, Organizational Support, and Health Among Norwegian Women Managers

Questionnaire data were collected from 191 professional and managerial women in Norway. Measures included demographic and work characteristics, job pressures (hours worked, level of management, work-family conflict), organizational supports (acceptance, support, training and development, challenging and visible jobs), and health indicators (life satisfaction, psychosomatic complaints, emotional exhaustion). Emotional exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints were combined into a stress index. Results indicated that women who experienced high role conflict and work-family pressures also reported poor health outcomes and little life satisfaction. Organizational initiatives to support and develop women's careers were associated with lower exhaustion and psychosomatic symptomatology and more life satisfaction. While the relationship between women's employment and physical and psychological well-being is not clear-cut, there is perhaps a need for organizations to focus on initiatives that will allow diversity in the choices women make with regard to involvement in careers and family, as well as a need to find ways to support and encourage such diversity. Not only may this have a beneficial effect on women workers' health and energy to use at work, but it may also make way for alternative career paths into top management positions for professional women.