A recent survey by A.C. Nielsen has revealed that Indian women are the most stressed-out in the world with 87 per cent of them feel stressed-out most of the time. Even in workaholic America, only 53 per cent women feel stressed. “The times have changed. Our actions are progressive but our mentality is still what it was 10 years ago. In most cases, men expect their wives to share the financial burden by taking up jobs. On the other hand, the wife is still expected to do the daily chores whenever she is not working,” says Anuradha S., a family counsellor.
Women often complain that they don’t have time for anything, as they have to rush to the kitchen the moment they get back home. Some women might have help at home, but they are the ones who add the personal touch.
The competition in the corporate world is ruthless — and be it a man or a woman, they have to survive. “Your boss is not going to understand that you burnt the toast or that the clothes haven’t been sent to the laundry. When I am in office, it is all about work but when my mind eases off work during lunch time, I begin worrying about the work pending at home,” says Ishita Agarwal, a working professional.
Many corporate firms have made arrangements to make things easier for women, especially those who are married. Praveen Jha, an HR with a leading IT firm, says, “We don’t differentiate based on sex when it comes to work, but we make it a point that women are not allotted night shifts against their will. We check with them before allotting the shift. If a woman has to stay, we ensure that we have cab facilities. Married woman do the 9-5 shift unless there is some emergency work. We strictly follow the maternity leave regulations.”
It is not just work or her home; there are many other things that women worry about. A tiff with her husband over ‘not spending enough time’, losing hair, the appearance of wrinkles — all these are a part of women’s worries.
Some firms make sure that they make their female employees feel good. “We send cards or little gifts to the mothers in office on Mother’s Day. Apart from that, we encourage employees to share their issues with their girl friends here, so that it will help ease their stress in some way,” says Rekha Shekar, an executive in a private bank.