Managing stress: A matter of proactivity or trust? A thematic study of female- and male-dominated Swedish work settings

Abstract

Purpose

Given the parallel processes of stress development and organisational changes towards increased managerialism, the purpose of this paper is to understand the way in which employees’ stress is perceived and managed in female- and male-dominated sectors, characterised by new management-oriented steering methods.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a thematic analysis of interviews with managers and employees at one Swedish female-dominated work setting and one male-dominated work setting. The paper offers an analysis of how managerial approaches to stress mediate the ways in which employees may come to govern their own subjectivity through stress-management practices. Drawing upon Foucault’s and Rose’s work on governmentality and freedom, these practices are understood as implicated in the everyday exercise of power over the self.

Findings

The main finding is that a logic emphasising proactivity was more prevalent at the female-dominated workplace, while a logic emphasising trust was most prevalent at the male-dominated workplace. Both logics perceive self-management and self-realisation as ways to manage stress, but in the proactive regime, self-management and self-realisation tend to turn into new modes of exploitation. Approaches to stress management in the proactive regime in fact seem to further diminish levels of discretion and control, which, according to previous research, are typically already low in female-dominated work.

Practical implications

Based on these findings, the study argues for the importance of combining a self-managerial approach with trust in order to avoid turning the individualisation of work into a source of stress at female-dominated workplaces.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a more complex understanding of women’s work stress by highlighting its interconnection with a proactive stress management regime.

Citation

Thunman, E. (2015), "Managing stress: A matter of proactivity or trust? A thematic study of female- and male-dominated Swedish work settings", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 134-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-11-2013-1184