women in the workplace

Another Reason to Be Nice to Waitresses and Nurses

We're dying
We’re dying Photo: Peter M. Fisher/Corbis

A new study published on Wednesday in The Journal of Neurology has some bad news for people, especially women, who work in very stressful jobs like waitressing or nursing. After looking at a sample of 140,000 people across three continents, researchers found that people who worked high-strain jobs like, oh I dunno, serving your damn brunch, are 22 percent more likely to suffer from strokes than people in less criminally pressuring careers. And of that 22 percent, the risk is even higher for women.

The study assessed four categories of work, with two main variables — psychological demand and the amount of control you have over your workday. The lowest stress jobs are those with low psychological demand and high control, jobs like scientists and architects (hmm, who typically holds careers in these fields, we wonder?). Careers with the most stress, according to the L.A. Times, are those where there is a high psychological demand paired with a lack of control, like waitressing, nursing, and jobs in the service industry.

Not only do women dominate those sectors, but they are particularly dangerous for women. Women are 33 percent more likely to suffer from strokes when in high-strain jobs versus low-strain. What more incentive do we need to make room for more women in STEM? Or to be nice to your nurse or waitress today? Her health could depend on it.

Another Reason to Be Nice to Waitresses