Perfectionist Women Less Satisfied Than Men in Terms of Work and Home Goals - Building Gender Balanced Business

• In a study of the obvious, US researchers have found that women are more likely to feel like they are not meeting their goals at the home and at the office.

• The sort of questions that brought on these feelings includes “the time I spend with my family interferes with my work responsibilities”. Would that men were as worried, but we are not there yet.

• The authors of the study of 288 adults published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology said that women’s concerns about not meeting their own high standards in terms of commitments could have a negative effect on the work-life balance.

• The adults were divided into those who set very high standards but felt they failed them; those who felt they met similar standards; and non-perfectionists.

• 38% of female perfectionists said they missed their work standards, vs 24% of corresponding men; 30% of those women felt they were missing the mark at home, vs 17% of the men.

• One of the authors said: “None of the research I’ve seen which splits perfectionism into groups has found a gender difference so it was completely unexpected. I’m not sure where it comes from, and we need more research.” She did note such media messages as how women can have it all but also needing to be the primary care-givers at home.

• A UK university professor helpfully informed the BBC that “women often felt very guilty when juggling work and home commitments. … They tend to be more conscientious, working to 100%.”

The BBC report