Men are happier at work than women: study

Men are happier at work than women, according to a recent North America-wide survey.

It’s because they’re more likely to take breaks, and they have a better work-life balance.

Captivate Office Pulse interviewed more than 670 white-collar workers in 14 cities about their attempts to balance their personal and work lives.

It found men are 25 per cent happier at work than women, eight per cent happier at home and 75 per cent report being able to balance their work and personal lives.

Captivate Office Pulse has a research bank of 4,000 white-collar professionals across North America.  This survey was based on the responses to an online blind panel by 673 of these professionals in July, 2011.

Men spend their work breaks having lunch, smoking, and yes, having sex, at a higher rate than women do. Men also reported taking more breaks to “just relax.”

And at home, women are still doing the bulk of the housework, performing more chores like laundry, cleaning and cooking.

The happiest worker is, on average, a 39-year-old man in a senior management position. He’s married with one young child, has a wife who only works part time, and has an annual household income $150,000 to $200,000.

The unhappiest employee is a 42-year-old, single professional woman with an annual household income under $100,000.

Some other survey highlights:

• women are 33 per cent unhappier than men in the office.
• middle managers are 171 per cent more likely to work around the clock than other workers.
• professionals making between $75,000 and $100,000 are 23 per cent less likely than other earners to balance work and personal life.
• adults with young children at home are 13 per cent more likely than non-parents to work too much.