The 14,618 U.S. workers included in the study, published in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, were asked about their emotions at work and their typical mood as well as where they stood in their organization’s hierarchy.
In the study, female workers reported feeling more overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated and discouraged than their male counterparts. They also reported more overall negative feelings compared to their male colleagues, which only improved as both genders moved up in rank; however, men felt more relieved than women when moving up.
“It would be hard for anyone to break through a glass ceiling when they feel overwhelmed, stressed, less respected and less confident,” said Jochen Menges, PhD, one of the co-authors of the study. “This emotional burden may not only hamper promotion opportunities for women, but also prevent them from contributing to an organization to the best of their ability.”
Because emotions are an integral part of effective leadership, the researchers said that the findings are analogous with women running in lead shoes.
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