GENDER DIFFERENCES IN WORK AND WELL-BEING - EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY

Evidence regarding women's differential exposure to job stressors has accumulated; however, there is also evidence that women are more vulne rable to stressors. Using a sample of 994 employed Canadians, a job st ress model that evaluates the differential exposure and vulnerability of men and women to job stressors is tested. The analysis considers th e direct and moderating effects of occupational self-direction, job de mands, and co-worker social support on distress. Results provide suppo rt for the conditional effects of job demands. Two dimensions of occup ational self-direction, substantive complexity and routinization, inte ract with one measure of job demands. Although women are exposed to lo wer substantive complexity and lower job control, the effect of these dimensions of occupational self-direction are similar for men and wome n, suggesting that differential exposure to job stressors does not acc ount for women's higher distress. Results indicate that, controlling f or exposure, marital status, and income, women are more vulnerable to the negative effect of job routinization.