Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Job Demands, Job Control, and New Technologies on the Health of Employed Women

A Review

  • Chapter
Women, Work, and Health

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

Abstract

During the last four decades women have entered the work force at a rapid pace. In 1988, 56.5% of all American women were in the paid labor force, with an expected rise to 61.5% by the year 2000 (Spain, 1988). Despite the steady increase in women’s participation in the work force, clerical occupations have remained the job category held by the largest proportion of women since 1950. In that year 27.4% of all employed women were employed in clerical occupations whereas 33.8% of women were employed in these jobs in 1980 (Bianchi & Spain, 1986). Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, Hunt and Hunt (1987) have estimated that clerical work will increase by 26.5% for both sexes between 1982–1995. Among women clerical workers the greatest increases between 1984–1995 are expected to occur in computer operators (46.1%), switchboard operators (28.7%), and order clerks (19.2%), jobs that are to a great extent related to the use of computers (artmann, Kraut, & Tilly, 1986)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Åkerstedt, T., Knutsson, A., Alfredsson, L., & Theorell, T. (1984). Shift work and cardio-vascular disease. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 10, 409–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alfredsson, L., Spetz, C. L., & Theorell, T. (1985). Type of occupation and near future hospitalization for myocardial infarction and some other diagnoses. International Journal of Epidemiology, 14, 378–388.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, D., Delp, L., & Dellenbaugh, C. (1984). Health effects of video display terminals in relation to work environment and job task characteristics. American Journal of Epidemiology, 120, 479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balshem, M. (1984). Job stress and health among women clerical workers: A case study (preliminary results). Paper presented at the meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Denver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. M., & Spain, D. (1986). American Women in Transition, New York: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cranor, L. A., Karasek, R. A., & Carlin, C. J. (1981). Job characteristics and office work: Findings and health implications. Paper presented at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Conference on Occupational Health Issues Affecting Clerical/Secretarial Personnel, Cincinnati.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doncevic, S., Theorell, T., & Scalia-Tomba, G. (1988). The psychosocial work environment of district nurses in Sweden. Work and Stress, 2, 341–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, J. (1984a). Results from working women’s office worker health and safety survey. In B. G. E Cohen (Ed), Human aspects in office automation (pp. 195–210). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, J. (1984b). Analysis of VDT operator questionnaire from 9 to 5 hotline. Cleveland: 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haan, M. (1985). Job strain and cardiovascular disease: A ten-year prospective study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 122, 532.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, H. I., Kraut, R. E., & Tilly, L. A. (Eds.). (1986). Effects of technological change: Employment levels and occupational shifts. Computer chips and paper clips: Technology and women’s employment (Vol. I., pp. 62–126). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S. G., & Feinleib, M. (1980). Women, work, and coronary heart disease: Prospective findings from the Framingham Study. American Journal of Public Health, 70, 113–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S. G., LaCroix, A. Z., & Lippin, T. (1987). The effect of high job demands and low control on the health of employed women. In J. C. Quick, R. Rasbhagat, J. Dalton, & J. D. Quick (Eds.), Work stress and health care (pp. 93–110). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibbard, J. H., & Pope, C. R. (1987). Employment characteristics and health status among men and women. Women and Health, 12, 85–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S., Strecher, V., Metzner, H. L., & Robbins, C. A. (1986). Occupational stress and health among men and women in the Tecumseh community health study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27, 62–77.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, H. A., & Hunt, T L. (1987). The impact of technological change. In H. J. Hartmann (Ed.), Computer chips and paper clips. Technology and women’s employment (Vol. II, pp. 223–267). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi, L. (1987). Future research. In R. Kalimo, M. A. El-Batawi, and C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Psychosocial factors at work and their relation to health (pp. 239–245). Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R. A., Russell, R. S., & Theorell, T. (1982). Physiology of stress and regeneration in job-related cardiovascular illness. Journal of Human Stress, 8, (March), 29–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaCroix, A. Z. (1984). Occupational exposure to high demand/low control work and coronary heart disease incidence in the Framingham cohort. (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, 1985). Dissertation Abstracts International, 45, DA8425492.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaCroix, A. Z., & Haynes, S. G. (1987). Gender differences in the health effects of workplace roles. In R. C. Barnett, L. Biener, & G. K. Baruch (Eds.), Gender and stress (pp. 96–121). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landeweerd, J. A., & Boumans, N. P. G. (1988). Work satisfaction, health, and stress: A study of Dutch nurses. Work and Stress, 2, 17–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackay, C., & Cox, T. (1984). Occupational stress associated with visual display unit operation. In B. Pierce (Ed.), Health hazards of VDTs (pp. 137–144). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mc Laney, M. A., & Hurrell, J. R. (1988). Control, stress, and job satisfaction in Canadian nurses. Work and Stress, 3, 217–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passannante, M. R., & Nathanson, C. A. (1985). Female labor force participation and female mortality in Wisconsin 1974–1978. Social Science and Medicine, 21, 665–668.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowland, J. B. (1984). Health effects of video display terminals: A comprehensive investigation of the economic, environmental, and psychosocial components of the work station. Presentation made to the Office of Technology Assessment Workshop on Quality of Worksite Issues in Office Automation, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M., Cohen, B. G. E, & Stammerjohn, L. W. (1981a). An investigation of health complaints and job stress in video display operations. Human Factors, 23, 387–400.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. J., Cohen, B. G. E, Stammerjohn, L. W, & Happ, A. (1981b). Potential health hazards of video display terminals: Health complaints (DHHS - NCOSH Publication No. 81129). Cincinnati: DHHS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, G., & Verbugge, L. M. (1987). Women, work, and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 8, 235–251.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spain, D. (1988). Women’s demographic past, present, future. Paper presented at the Radcliffe Conferences on Women in the 21st Century. Defining the challenge: Emerging needs and constraints, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, S. J. (1983). Nonionizing radiations: Current issues and controversies. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 25, 95–97.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stellman, J. M., Klitzman, S., Gordon, G. R., & Snow, B. (1987). Comparison of well-being among full-time, part-time VDT users, typists, and non-machine interactive display unit. In B. Knare (Ed.), First International Scientific Conference on Work with Display Units (pp. 303–306). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strober, M. H., & Arnold, C. L. (1987). Integrated circuits/segregated labor: Women in computer-related occupations and hightech industries. In H. I. Hartman (Ed.), Computer chips and paper clips: Technology and women’s employment (Vol. II, pp. 211–237). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verbrugge, L. M. (1984). Physical health of clerical workers. In B. G. F. Cohen (Ed.), Human aspects in office automation (pp. 211–237). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA

    Suzanne G. Haynes

Authors
  1. Suzanne G. Haynes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, S-106 91, Sweden

    Marianne Frankenhaeuser  & Ulf Lundberg  & 

  2. Prevention Sciences Group, School od Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA

    Margaret Chesney

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Haynes, S.G. (1991). The Effect of Job Demands, Job Control, and New Technologies on the Health of Employed Women. In: Frankenhaeuser, M., Lundberg, U., Chesney, M. (eds) Women, Work, and Health. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3712-0_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3712-0_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6651-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3712-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation