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Masked Symptoms: Mid-life Women, Health, and Work*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Zelda Abramson
Zelda Abramson*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Acadia University
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Zelda Abramson, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6. (zelda.abramson@acadiau.ca)
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Abstract

Data from the Canadian Labour Force Survey (1997) reveal that relatively few mid-life women offer ill health as a reason for leaving their job or downshifting to part-time employment, implying that the role of ill health may be inconsequential in effecting changing patterns in mid-life women's labour force activity. In contrast, interviews with 30 mid-life women (aged 40 to 54 years) illustrate that, although they do not offer illness as their main reason for leaving their job or working part-time, health is a determining factor. This research also maps the complex relationship between work and ill health, showing that stressful working conditions (due to funding cuts and policy changes) affected the mental and physical health of this group of mid-life women, which, in turn, influenced their decision to change their labour force activity. The author concludes that policy makers must recognize that ill health may be under-reported among mid-life women in large surveys and that research is needed that specifically examines women's working conditions as they relate to health. Such research should not be based solely on large surveys but must also include qualitative studies that capture women's experiences.

Résumé

Les données du Sondage sur la population active du Canada (1997) révèlent que relativement peu de femmes ayant atteint la ménopause donnent comme raison la mauvaise santé pour quitter leur emploi ou revenir à un emploi à temps partiel, ce qui suggère que le rôle de la mauvaise santé peut être négligeable dans les changements constatés dans les activités des femmes à la ménopause sur le marché du travail. Par contre, des entrevues auprès de 30 femmes à la ménopause (40 à 54 ans) illustrent que, bien qu'elles ne déclarent pas la maladie comme la principale raison les ayant incitées à quitter leur emploi ou à travailler à temps partiel, la santé est un facteur déterminant. Cette recherche trace aussi la relation complexe entre le travail et la mauvaise santé et indique que le stress lié au travail (en raison des baisses de financement et des changements de politique) a eu une incidence sur la santé mentale et physique de ce groupe de femmes à la ménopause, ce qui, à son tour, a influencé leur décision de modifier leurs activités sur le marché du travail. L'auteur conclut que les décideurs doivent reconnaître que la mauvaise santé peut être sous-déclarée par les femmes à la ménopause comme motif lors des sondages importants, et qu'il faut procéder à une recherche qui examine précisément les conditions de travail des femmes en ce qui a trait à leur santé. Une telle recherche ne devrait pas être basée uniquement sur les sondages importants, mais doit aussi comprendre des études qualitatives englobant les expériences des femmes.

Keywords

agingwomenmid-lifehealthemploymentmethodologyvieillissementfemmesménopausesantéemploiméthodologie
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2007 , pp. 295 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

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Footnotes

*

The author thanks the reviewers for their helpful comments.

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