How Meaningful is Your Job?

Many would agree that we as women are people pleasers. Our history is thick with feeling the pressure to do it all. The perception of the working woman, balancing a hundred different things at once, is that she leads a very stressful life, always taking care of everyone beside herself. Well, an interesting study was done by Catherine Rampell of the New York Times (via the Huffington Post) regarding how satisfied, and fulfilled an average worker is, in conjunction with their salary. She found that despite being paid less (women still make 81 cents to the male dollar) women are more likely to work in a job that is meaningful to them. So what does this mean?

Men Want the Money

Maybe, there is an inherent difference between what a man wants out of a job and what a woman wants. It could be that women are just less motivated by money and are therefore more likely to choose a job that stimulates them. Men might care more about financial compensation, thus leading them into jobs that might be less fulfilling but more lucrative.

Men Should be Making the Money

Or is it our society still being entrenched in the idea that the male should be the primary breadwinner? It is possible that women are purposely looking for jobs that are less financially significant but more enjoyable, thereby not upsetting the status quo.

Rampell’s findings also stated that women reported to having more stress at their jobs.  So despite being more stressed and being paid less, women are still more likely to find their jobs meaningful. Why?

One option could be found by looking at the nature of women already described above. The findings could be a result of that same “people pleasing” mentality. Women might be saying that they find their jobs meaningful, but perhaps they are just accustomed to not complaining. Or are we overanalyzing? Are women simply more satisfied with their jobs?

How satisfied are you with your job? Feel free to leave us a comment; we’d love to hear your thoughts!

This post is by Julia Scullion, a 4th year history student at Wilfrid Laurier University.