“Le Monde”: Women Suffer More Psychologically Than Men Due to Work-Related Disorders
The French newspaper “Le Monde,” citing the Public Health Organization in France, reports that women suffer from work-related psychological disorders more than men.
According to the newspaper, the volunteer association in Bordeaux hosts women of all ages, from various professions, most of whom are single mothers, victims of fatigue.
Anne-Sophie Vives, a former assistant magistrate, shares her choice to help other women by telling her story, saying: “I was able to rebuild myself by speaking with other women about my struggle to balance my work, role as a mother, and womanhood.”
She emphasizes: “We are now doubly affected due to inequality within the family and profession, psychological burden, and difficulty balancing personal and professional life,” explaining that “multi-factorial fatigue requires special support.”
The latest results from the Public Health Organization in France showed that work-related psychological distress increased in 2019 compared to 2007, and during this period, this distress was highest twice among women, with a noticeable increase in anxiety and depression disorders.
According to the newspaper, the care team consisting of 10 employees and about 30 volunteers from the association helped more than 600 women in Gironde and other places in France (via video conferences) in 2023, in addition to designing support groups, legal assistance workshops, and vocational reintegration workshops with sector specialists (doctors, lawyers), and mutual aid between individuals who have suffered from the same physical or psychological illness.
Hollande Praises the Association’s Work
Anne-Sophie Vives says that despite its uniqueness, the association reached the final round in 2023 for the La France s’engage Foundation award, chaired by François Hollande.
Former President Hollande, who visited the association in February, praised the “experts’ work” on this “psychological disorder, which is not just depression and should be recognized as an occupational disease.”
For her part, Marie Bezi, a psychologist and head of the 200 suffering and work consultation network, including the association, says, “With increasing work pressure, accelerated rhythms, but also digitization, everyone is affected,” explaining that “initially, this syndrome affected caregivers.”
The pharmacist at a hospital in a private clinic in Brest, aged 50, recounts her ordeal since her departure, where the peak of the breakdown was in 2021: “One morning, I couldn’t go to work, as I was hit by a panic attack and tears behind the steering wheel.”
Work Pressure and Divorce Cases
She continued: “It has been over a month that I was not feeling well, and I only ate light meals, and I had no social life.”
Another woman says, “I had to deal with the burden of work in two jobs, with a deputy position vacant: work was haunting me.”
She added, “My manager was bothering me by constantly asking for more, and sometimes he would call me at 11 p.m. to be on deck the next day,” and in the morning, at 8 a.m., to send intensive care equipment to the emergency room, according to the French newspaper.
For her part, psychological analyst Marie Bezi confirms that many divorce cases occur when one of the partners suffers from fatigue.
Psychologist Emmanuelle Duc offers her expertise in diagnosing burnout syndrome and sometimes getting women out of denial, saying: “The idea is to understand how it happened and identify strong and weak signs by highlighting symptoms: dizziness, memory loss, lack of focus, anxiety, irritability, digestive or hormonal disorders – menopause, etc.”
She pointed out that these symptoms confirm the occurrence of psychological fatigue resulting from increasing work pressures.
