Living to Work or Working to Live: Some Intriguing Gender Differences

Men are more likely than women to say they "work to live."

Women are more likely than men to say they "live to work."

This is according to a recent study conducted by Yankelovich for CIGNA, which reflects the opinions of 742 full-time employed Americans. 

Survey results show that:

71% of women "live to work" (versus 59% of men).

Women are more likely than men to agree that -

• Their job is great, it gives their life structure and purpose (17% versus 10% for men)

• They love their job, they would do it even if they won the lottery (23% versus 20% for men)

• They like their job, they get a sense of satisfaction from going to work each day (31% versus 29% for men)

In contrast:

40% of men "work to live" (versus 28% of women).

Men are more likely than women to agree that -

• Their job is OK, they primarily work for the paycheck (19% versus 13% for women)

• They'd rather be doing something else, but right now feel stuck because of the economy (9% versus 3% for women)

I thought this was interesting information.  Are there implications here for pay equity? 

What do you think?

Ann Bares is the Editor of Compensation Café,  Author of Compensation Force and Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group LLC, where she provides compensation consulting services to a wide range of client organizations.  She is no longer willing to publicly admit how many years experience she has in the field.  She earned her M.B.A. at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, enjoys reading in her spare time and is currently trying to decide whether to follow her daughter to China this summer.  Follow her on Twitter at @annbares.

Comments

[Joe Rice]

Interesting stuff. As a man I fall into the "work to live" category but I would hesitate to draw a line from that and motivation and/or performance.

[KD]

Ann and Team -

No comment on this post, just wanted to say congrads on starting the blog. I'm sure it will become my go to source for comp data in addition to - of course - Compensation Force...

Kris Dunn
www.hrcapitalist.com
www.fistfuloftalent.com

[E James (Jim) Brennan]

1. understand the "female overcommitment" thing, as a natural offshoot from the conventional gender-based socialization training (per Suzette Haden Elgin, PhD) that men stop working when their list (on job or at home) is done but women are responsible for EVERYthing. So not least bit suprised by the survey findings.
2. give your kid a break. Does she really want you trailing her down the Great Wall or spying on her in the Forbidden City? OTOH, such sights are not great memories unless shared.

[Ann Bares]

Joe:

It is interesting. For me, I feel my attitude varies based on the day. While I love my work and feel blessed to do what I do, I definitely have my share of "work to live" days.

I wasn't so much looking to draw a line from this to performance or motivation, as to ask whether the different outlooks lead us to be more or less willing to press for more money, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Kris:

Thanks for stopping by and offering the congrads! We hope you'll be back regularly!

Jim:

LOL. I wouldn't be trailing her around, just considering visiting for a short time during her stay. I'm not THAT MUCH of a helicopter mom...

[Doug Sayed]

Wow Ann, this is a shocker! I figured the results would be just the opposite. I would expect men to be more work oriented than women.

As a dedicated (and voluntary) workaholic who's passionate about what I do, it's more than a bit surprising. I've always thought women in general were better at being "balanced" then men and less work oriented in general (and that's a good thing, at least for most folks).

Well, gotta go and get back to work!

[Ann Bares]

Doug:

Perhaps men ARE more work oriented because they see work as vital to having the right living ... which makes them more inclined to push for the amount of money that makes it all worthwhile ... which was where I was going in raising the pay equity issue. Don't know. Just thought it was an interesting question given the data.

Thanks for the thought - now get back to work! (kidding ...)

[Matt N Johnson]

This is an expected finding as I would have assumed the reverse, as Doug indicated. But after some thought, this makes sense. In my own experience I've found this to be true. Unfortunately, I wish more people both men and women could feel really connected to their work and find meaning in it, since we spend so much of our lives at work. Thanks for sharing these results.

[Ann Bares]

Matt:

I hear you - good for all of us to find connection and meaning in our work. And yet, given that recent times have shown many of us how "disposable" our jobs can be, also good to look for connection and meaning outside of work.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!