The Management of Workplace Stress: Work-Life Integration - Essay Example

To what extent are current approaches to the management of workplace stress; work life integration and equal opportunities successful in addressing these issues in organisations? Student Name: Introduction: Proper addressing of certain factors is the secret of successful management in any organisation. Although profit and establishing a business are the chief goal for which many administrations consider the staff management and staff welfare as the tools, these aspects are generally not addressed properly. The paper I now place deals with the three aspects namely, workplace stress, work-life integration and equal opportunity. The role of administrations in dealing with these issues is crucial in terms of creating development oriented approaches for both employers and the working staff. Solving the real problems in the work field like hiring better employees, enhancing work motivation, increasing job satisfaction, promoting safety attitudes, reducing absenteeism and accidents form part of better organisational outlook towards better management. (Arnold, J.et al, 2005) Stress is purely related to the involvement of the self with the environment. Can a corpse have stress over its burial or cremation? Thus stress is concerned with the movements of life that lays its impact on perception differences. Many stimuli, psychological, social and even physical are stressors only if they are perceived as stressful. (Stephen M. et al, 2001) Work-life integration involves appropriate management adoption in the life styles and work fields. The factors destabilising the balance are prone to emerge both at work place and at the family environment. The role of a staff in striking the balance between work place stress and family level management is normally and abundantly dependant upon the situations at the work place environment. A husband’s inappropriate fury over paltry family issues is to be borne by the family members or wife giving importance to the work place stress of the bread winner. Absence of such endurance at family level causes certainly an imbalance in the minds of the working people causing unwanted results both at work place and family. Imbalance at work place has its impact on the outcome of his/her job, which is production capability. Equal opportunity is the best tool for an employer to bring as much work force in to his umbrella as possible to be considerably productive. The same is also the tool for the employees to get their fundamental rights fulfilled, which simultaneously pave way for trade unions to become the middle force to get the staff welfare profusely maintained. As this factor permeates between both employees and employers, attainment of perfect equilibrium is often elusive. The part of employers in reducing work place stress is measurably big. Work-life integration is the factor that can be effectively maintained by the proper adherence of strategies by the employees in many situations in conformity with their work place environments. Equal opportunity maintenance is the one which is to be greatly collective. Employees, employers, society and cultural implications and many other factors have their impact on equal opportunity. Thus 100% achievement of equal opportunity is naturally impracticable. Methodology: I propose to carry out perspective analysis of the subject matter. For this purpose I select psychological perspective, sociological perspective and economic perspective through which I intend to sift the contents of the literature. On doing so, I believe a clear understanding of the three aspects: 1) work place stress 2) work-life integration and 3) equal opportunity could be had. Workplace stress: This stress has now become a very often found phenomenon in almost all levels of working group. Even blue collared labours have begun to complain of stress over the situations prevailing in their work places. This shows that imparting at least a small amount of responsibility on the assigned job brings about stress in the minds of employees. However, no employee could be completely relieved of his responsibility towards productivity proportionate to his renderings. The study conducted by Gail Kinman and Fiona Jones (2005) has revealed that causes of work place stress were predominantly organisational although the impacts were on the employees. The team had found mixed response over individual and organisational responsibilities towards stress management. (Gail Kinman and Fiona Jones, 2005). Having a psychological perspective of stress would pass much light on the way in which it could be managed. Stress is a general term pointing the balance of the self altered by a stimulus/stimuli. The fight – or – flight stress response is imminent to every stressor. (Lazarus R.S and Folkan S. , 1984) When employees are left with little knowledge or choice of knowledge to fix the control over the demands of their jobs they obviously feel stressful. Jobs entailing unrealistic deadlines, time pressure, responsibility for the safety of other workers or a demanding work load cause stress. (Kalimo R, et al 2000) The role of managers, administrators and organisations in general to circumvent the stress factor implications is crucial in placing the employees in a ‘cool brain’ condition by way of affording secondary and tertiary interventions to make them feel eased. Equal Opportunity: As already stated equal Opportunity is fine tool both for employees and employers. Political forces are using this tool for their advantage. A liaison among politics, employers and employees are able to be made by the intervening trade unions. But in practice, the trade unions begin to adopt modalities very similar to politicians, which drag the process to a never ending status. The approach and attitudes of all the concerned in respect of equal opportunity is multifaceted and of varying degrees of intensities. This further prolongs attainment of EO in any organisation perfectly. Racial discrimination and gender discrimination are the prominent factors that come in the way of Equal opportunity. Removal of covert racism is wrongfully attempted by way of overt racism that assumes blatant and insidious forms. Whether overt or covert, racism is neither innocent nor harmless but leads to negative sanctions and lost opportunities. (Rodney D. Coates, 2008)The need for equal opportunity that arose from the inequality prevailing out of globalisation has well been pointed out by Raphael Kaplinsky (2008) in a study in which the author disclosed the fact that the gainers in recent globalisation and related global competitions were those who were capable of insulating themselves from global competitions. High-end professional, celebrities, sportspeople and innovators were grouped under this category while those at the receiving end were unskilled workers and semiskilled IT professionals who could not with stand the global competitions. (Raphael Kaplinsky, 2008). The EO policy change has to go in hand with a process of culture change in organisations. A study conducted by Jean Woodall et al (1997) concluded that unless restructuring of organisations involves expansion of managerial level positions, disadvantage would be the ever ready commodity for women managers, who occasionally experience rewards by fluke out of organisational restructuring. (Jean Woodall et al 1997). Even female part-timers in Britain are not satisfied with their job. (Sally Walters (2005) Cynthia Cockburn (Cockburn, C. 1989 )has diligently selected four types of workplaces to analyse Equal Opportunities. Of the four areas the chief analysis was laid on High Street Retail Stores, which comprised tens of thousands of unskilled women employees at its base level. Consequent to the Equal Opportunities Act 1975 and Anti Racist Act 1976, the changes in the HSRS were deeply analysed by the researcher to read the effects of Equal Opportunities on the basis of sex and race. The Code of Equal Opportunities that spoke nothing about lesbians and gay men representation was slightly hinted by the author in support of her view that the Equal Opportunities implementation might prove to be insufficient in attaining the goal of activists. This view of the author goes in conformity with the similar view of Nicole Busby (2001) who strongly viewed that the protection afforded to gay men amounted to an equality deficit when compared with the legal redress available to other category discriminations. (Nicole Busby, Sam Middlemiss, 2001) The liberal and radical dichotomisation of Equal Opportunities Code and the way in which the practices were in vogue clearly spelt the end of the Equal Opportunities practices leading to the resignation of the Equal Opportunities manager in 1988. The social concern of a chief executive of HSRS in reducing black unemployment is indirectly lauded by the author) The EO policy rarely covers the disabled representations. The interests of disabled work force are seen with prejudice. The cases of transgender, lesbians and gay men are still worse. The right to live is not given equal share for these sections of people. The policies adopted by several organisations, firms and companies hesitate to take stern steps in absorbing these people into workforce. Currently companies like London Borough are accommodating homosexuals, which amount to cultural, social and evolutionary changes. The capitalist mode of production is admonished by the author as a gender system characterised by a male supremacy fetches men in power all the advantages only through repression of women. A transformative approach to EO alone, she believes to have the capability of addressing E O policies. The inefficiencies of EO policy changes are daringly hit at the face by Caroll Buswell (1994) wherein the authors decry against the failure of EO policy changes which is purely masculine using ‘time’ to segregate women from general pool of employment opportunities. The gender segregation in organisations undermines women’s own employment coping strategies, which often rely on other co-working women. (Carol Buswell, Sarah Jenkins ,1994) Building industry which had been construed as the male domain is the last castle being smashed by the equal opportunity. Many organisations incorporate different initiatives in promotion positions or going out of their way to recruit from minority groups. Rosemary Pringle (1997) suggests that it is crucial to combine both the strategies to if the issue of disadvantage to women out of discrimination is to be adequately addressed. (Rosemary Pringle, Anne Winning ,1998) Work-life integration: On carrying out a successful rope walk in maintaining work-life balance, every individual is faced with numerous problematic and sometimes easy to tackle issues. The chief obstacle in work-life integration is often found to be the gender discrimination clubbed with child care responsibilities. On analysing different spheres of work places I have found out that gender discrimination plays a crucial role is destabilising work-life integration. A sociological perspective of four different work fields shows that it is the woman hood that is normally affected by gender discrimination. I pick the following four spheres for the study: 1. Accountants. 2. Medical Professionals 3. Lawyers. 4. Engineering arena. Services of Accountants: This field of accountancy is the field in UK where more number of women get their job opportunities fulfilled. Susan Small in her A Career Development Guide for Women in the Accountancy Profession puts forth a statistics of 2.6% increase from 13.2% to 15.8% over a period of two years from 1992 to 1994 simultaneously underscoring that the field is still male dominant. She has earmarked certain qualities necessary for promotion and development in their field. She emphasises that looking ahead, foreseeing pitfalls and having a clear vision of their future clubbed with honest execution of their job alone will keep them in the higher rung in the career ladder. (Susan Small, 2008). A similar statistics elicited by Accountancyage.com in 28-11-2007 on behalf of a Specialist Financial Recruiter reveal that 68% of respondents among 121 rated their general promotional prospects in the field of accountancy while 70% of respondents felt family commitments as an obstacle to climb the career ladder. (“Women accountants have more workplace equality”, 2007, [Internet], accessed from http://www.itweek.co.uk/accountancyage/news/2204479/greater-playing-field-women on 06.04.08). The findings of this survey have been lauded by Sam Woodward in Response Source.com in which he recorded that both male and female accountants felt highly comfortable with the profession as it provided much time to be with family as well as profession. (Sam Woodward, 2007)One more noteworthy news piece from the same origin has portrayed that hardly 10% increase has taken place in case of non-executive directors. The fees structure for these highly responsible posts have gone up to 7.3% from 7.1% in the year 2007. (“Minimal increase in diversity at board level”, 2007, [Internet], accessed from http://www.itweek.co.uk/accountancyage/news/2203927/minimal-increase-diversity on 06.04.08 ). If one reads this piece of news with the previous one in which the senior level accountants felt their family commitments as obstacle to their career development, the crunch faced by women in striking a balance with their family life and career prospects can be ascribed to the shortfall in non-executive director level posts. The general expectancy that women alone have to maintain a familial and household responsibility thus becomes a factor for them to be discriminated on gender basis. Even among these clutches and unruly expectancies, women are able to thrive in the field of accountancy to somewhat greater degree. Absence/minimum of physical exertion in this field may be the reason for such involvement by women who are forced to get exhausted physically in their household work. Services of Medical Professionals: In medical profession the role of doctors is currently overwhelmed with female entrants who in many circumstances out do their counterparts. While many male doctors worry about the number of female doctors in UK, Professor. Jane Dacre of University College, London viewed that instead of worrying on the increase of female doctors equal opportunities for medics should be the main focus and selection of best candidates is selected regardless of gender. She has expressed her concern that female doctors are still under-represented in some specialities like surgery and at senior level of the profession. Dr.Brian McKinstry of University of Edinburgh has been accounting the load of child care vested with women who are to take still more responsibility in their medical profession. He made it clear those women who are well versed in their child rearing capabilities shine in the general medical practice. The double burdens at home and at hospitals make them to opt for part-time profession often. Dr. Brain opined the need for a revolution in child care methodologies emerging from fresh and right attitude towards childcare. As long as child care responsibilities are fully vested with women, discrimination of women in the profession will never fade away. The current changes in many familial circumstances in which males too get involved in child care modalities foretell that gender-based discrimination in medical profession especially with doctors would disappear soon. (“Rise in women doctors ‘worrying’, 2008, [Internet], BBC News updated on 03.04.08 retrieved from http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7329082.stm on 06.04.08). Women workers in health care industry are assumed to have greater capability of defusing client oriented violence. Their capacity of professional multifactor monitoring are universally accepted with pride and they liken these skills to a mother’s capacity to supervise children while completing numerous other tasks at home. (Tuija Virkki, 2008) The role of nurses in medical profession although has reduced discrimination on the basis of gender identity, still continues to suffer occupational discrimination. Nurses are still perceived by the doctors as inferior to the later. However, the current states of self realisation in respect of nurses have developed over the last three decades. Services of women lawyers: The position of female lawyers in Ireland still reflects the tint of discrimination on the basis of gender. They are not encouraged by their professional body as remarked by many female lawyers. Most of the women who did not apply for judicial posts ascribe their non-opting to several reasons including child care responsibilities and other uncertainty about appointment criteria. When compared to the situation in England, the plight of female lawyers is relatively worse. In England about 29% of women hold legal profession. (“Women lawyer’s role in spotlight”, 2005, [Internet], BBC News updated on 22.06.2005 accessed from http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4116946.stm ). While discussing representative judiciary, Jeniffer quotes Victorian Attorney – General Hulls to have hinted that the legal community of Australia, still kid itself by thinking the best are from bright Anglo-Saxon males alone. Representative judiciary is meant by the Australian judicial appointing cadre as of reflecting the community’s gender balance. Appointment of women members of legal world simply for the sake of their gender although is not favoured, balking the selection of skilled, qualified and able women members is a matter of concern (Jeniffer Batrouney S.C, 2003, “The Appoinment of Women to the Judiciary – It’s only Natural”, A PDF TO BE SOURCED). More over, the narcissistic awareness and approach towards discrimination of women in this profession of legal realm is highly strong. A recent news piece about the dress code of female lawyers in which they are admonished to wear fishnet is a self evident piece of prevailing discrimination. The hot debates among the lawyers raises the doubt and astonishment in the minds of the readers and viewers if the much educated professionals could act in such a low grade to win over an issue that is neither debate worthy nor up to the mark. (Emily Andrewes, 2008) Engineering services: The field of engineering has reached an astonishingly great proportion of growth, in which young women participate to the fullest capabilities. The dogmatic assertions that engineering was a male domain have long back been dismantled. The finding of Swedish Medical Research Council 1997 was a turning point in the field of Science and Engineering Technology in which discrimination was under water till late 1997. Nancy J Lane (1999) in her debate report exposed the findings, which stated that women were forced to be 2.2 times more productive than males and that gender bias was in the way in which research awards were made. And currently many young women pour into this field and achieve wonders. This is the field where intelligence plays crucial role. The impact of intelligence irrespective of gender throws its fruit on the assigned project instantly. Such immediate result-showing screens of their jobs make both male and females to accept one another as equally strong for the engineering development of the project they have put themselves in. Women Into Science and Engineering (WISE) Campaign , London, has prudently named engineering as a caring career that devices project not only for hi-tech developments in scientific developments but also plunges into the projects for improving the qualities of life. The author of WISE campaign Marie – Noelle Barton has thought fully acknowledged the need and necessity of human brain and its harnessing towards engineering developments. (Mrs. Marie-Noelle Barton, 2008) Sexual discrimination is not allowed now a day to enter into this field as it is mostly construed awkward. The emergence of immediate results of intelligence daringly hit the face of engineers that do not allow them to be unwontedly egoistic. Acknowledging one another’s intelligence is the only way to achieve any joint goal. Team spirit is a must for this field. The field has attained a healthy growth in which the seniors give priority to the targeted results leaving all other things away their professional ambit. An economic perspective: - Pay structures and promotional venues in any career are the chief factors that attract or repel young people in to or away from the career. The social obligation on women to accept relatively low pay structure is the impact of gender discrimination in truth. Although the current emergence of corporate culture and related approaches has found a way out for the problematic issues of gender discrimination, complete eradication of this scare still is a distant green. The present households that can not go smooth with one single bread-winner pushes everybody, including women, to work for earning an income. Thus the pay structure of any job is the crucial criterion. In 2001 itself the gender pay gap and the slow functioning styles of pay tribunals have been debated much to the concern of women employees. BBC had estimated a lifetime deficit of £25000 even three decades after the promulgation of Equal Pay Act 1970. (Marcia Hughes, 2001) Pay structures to women employees in UK are still subjected to discrimination but in a disguised manner other than sexual discrimination. After the promulgation of Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sexual Discrimination Act, 1975, the discrimination has taken a new form of occupational segregation and caring responsibilities. Vertical segregation of women have dumped major population of them in low level jobs that require less skills while horizontal segregation constitutes 60% of women working merely in ten occupations. Caring responsibilities of women with family restricts their working hours drastically. They are forced to opt for part-time jobs which are actually not available in high level careers like IT. This becomes the main axis of pay gap between men and women. Promotional avenues are also affected by their family caring loads. (“Gender Pay Gap” A web bulletin retrieved from http://www.iris.salford.ac.uk/GRIS/depict/GenderPayGap.html on 09.04.08). The murmur of women IT employees over the non-transparency in pay packages still prevails in the industry keeping them a foot lifted towards a better opportunity once they begin to feel that they are relatively paid less for the same job as done by their male counterparts. (“Women Still vexed over IT pay gap”, A news release from the Register accessed from . http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/09/women_pay_gap/ on 09.04.08) The group of less skilled women workers of refuse collection crew Leeds City Council is now head on to reject the newly proposed pay structure, which they fear would result in pay cuts for about 2000 women employees. The employees union felt a non-transparency on the part of the Council resulting in £6000 per year. (David Marsh, 2008). Strikingly the new pay structure also provoked many male employees as the new structure attempted to freeze the pay grades of many male employees in attempting to increase the pay scales of women employees. ( Jill Sherman, 2007 ). Pay overlap arising out of experience and demanding nature of the jobs is inevitable. Equal pay claim has the eventuality of affording less pay to a higher grade woman employee with less experience when compared with a skilled and more experienced lower grade male employee. (Sue Hastings, 2008). The following statistics provided by UNISON delineates the crisis in local government out of chronic under funding leading to more than 75% women employees still getting less pay than male employees: (“Local government”, 2007, a Webcast in UNISON accessed from http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/gettingequal/ on 09.04.08) In 2004 In 2006 Minimum pay for women in Local government £10560 £11193 Minimum pay for women in NHS £9681 £11782. Bargaining on equal pay structure for women is an embedded voice of them in service/trade unions who wield Equal pay Act for the collective bargaining of their constituent members. (Edmund Heery (2006) Stress management: - A multiple Social role for both men and women at times become a resource outweighing the stress impact. Mikael Nordenmark in 2002 had tried to find out if Multiple Social Roles act as a burden or resource for working force. In his study he found that it was the cohabiting women with children working more than 40 hours a week who were seeking reduction of working hours. He also found that the distress level for this category was not high. An idea of utilising Multiple Social Role as a tool for easing the distress level in working class people may open some fresh gates for devising appropriate organisational changes towards stress management in their staff. (Mikael Nordenmark ,2002) Women in jobs with high – demand and high – control were found not to experience work- family conflict when compared with their male counterparts. A Survey data from 800 Sweedish employees collected by Anne Gronlund (2007) reveals that job demands spill over negatively into family life while job control reducing the effect of work-family conflict.( Anne Grönlund ,2007) CONCLUSION: The literature review made evidently depicts a clear picture in which child care responsibility is a major factor hindering women employees to maintain their balance in family and work place. This dual pressure on them is conveniently used by several male dominant power zones of administrations to segregate them on the ground of low-productivity thereby giving way for gender discrimination. Gender discrimination permeates itself in work place stress, work-life integration and equal opportunity arenas. Eradicating gender discrimination would create an atmosphere of serene business culture. But in reality achievement of this amidst the current cultural and social set up is at a distance. The economic perspectives of governments and administrations are a bit heartening in emulating equal pay structures for women and minority for the same kind and amount or work. However, a perfect work-life integration and equal opportunity far from pay structure could be attained on radical changes in organisations wherein managerial involvement is obligatory. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reference list – Anne Grönlund (2007) “More Control, Less Conflict? Job Demand-Control, Gender and Work-Family Conflict” Gender, Work & Organization 14 (5) , 476–497 Arnold, J., Silvester, J, Patterson, F., Roberstson, I., Cooper, C. and Burnes, B. (2005) Work Psychology 4th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Carol Buswell, Sarah Jenkins (1994) “Equal Opportunities Policies, Employment and Patriarchy” Gender, Work & Organization 1 (2) , 83–93 Cockburn, C. (1989) ‘Equal Opportunities: the short and long agenda’, Industrial Relations Journal, Vol.20,No.3,pp.213-25 David Marsh, 2008, “Council staff reject new pay structure”, A news release from Yorkshire Evening Post updated on 03.04.2008 accessed from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Council-staff-reject-new-pay.3636932.jp on 09.04.08 Edmund Heery (2006) “Equality Bargaining: Where, Who, Why?”Gender, Work & Organization, 13 (6) , 522–542 Emily Andrewes, 2008, “Legal firm bans fishnet stockings because they distract male collegues”, News release in Daily Mail dated 05-April-2008 Gail Kinman and Fiona Jones, 2005, “Lay Representations of Work Place Stress:What do people really mean when they say they are stressed?, Journal of Work and Stress, Vol.19. No.2: 101-120 “Gender Pay Gap” A web bulletin retrieved from http://www.iris.salford.ac.uk/GRIS/depict/GenderPayGap.html on 09.04.08 Jean Woodall, Christine Edwards, Rosemary Welchman (1997) “Organizational Restructuring and the Achievement of an Equal Opportunity Culture” Gender, Work & Organization 4 (1) , 2–12 Jill Sherman, 2007, “Men are to pay a high price for sexual equality”, A News reease dated 12.03.2007 of The Times accessed on 09.04.08 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/public_sector/article1499960.ece Kalimo R, Tenkanen L, Haermae M, Poppius E and Heinselmi P, 2000, “Job stress and sleep disorders:Findings from the Helsinki Heart Study, Stress Medicine, 15, 65-75 “Local government”, 2007, a Webcast in UNISON accessed from http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/gettingequal/ on 09.04.08 Lazarus R.S and Folkan S. , 1984, “Stress: Appraisal and Coping”, Springer, New York. Marcia Hughes, 2001, “Women still paid less than men”, A BBC News release dated 13.08.2001 Mikael Nordenmark (2002) “Multiple Social Roles — a Resource or a Burden: Is it Possible for Men and Women to Combine Paid Work with Family Life in a Satisfactory Way?” Gender, Work & Organization 9 (2) , 125–145 “Minimal increase in diversity at board level”, 2007, [Internet], accessed from http://www.itweek.co.uk/accountancyage/news/2203927/minimal-increase-diversity on 06.04.08 Mrs. Marie-Noelle Barton, 2008, “WISE calling on all women”, accessed from http://www.science-engineering.net/women_engineering.htm on 06.04.08 Nancy J Lane, 1999, “Why are there so few women in science?”, debates- a web cast dated 09.09.1999 retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/women/women_contents.html on 11.04.08. Nicole Busby, Sam Middlemiss (2001) The Equality Deficit: Protection against Discrimination on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation in Employment, Gender, Work & Organization 8 (4) , 387–410 Raphael Kaplinsky, 2008, “Globalisation, inequality and Climate Change”, Geography Compass, 2/1: 67-78 “Rise in women doctors ‘worrying’, 2008, [Internet], BBC News updated on 03.04.08 retrieved from http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7329082.stm on 06.04.08 Rodney D. Coates (2008) Covert Racism in the USA and Globally Sociology Compass 2 (1) , 208–231 Rosemary Pringle, Anne Winning (1998) “Building Strategies: Equal Opportunity in the Construction Industry” Gender, Work & Organization 5 (4) , 220–229 Sally Walters (2005) “Making the Best of a Bad Job? Female Part-Timers Orientations and Attitudes to Work” Gender, Work & Organization 12 (3) , 193–216 Sam Woodward, 2007, “The Accountancy Profession – No longer jobs for the boys”, A Press Release dated 27-11-2007 @ www.responsesource.com accessed on 06.04.2008 Stephen M. Kosslyn and Robin S. Rosenberg, 2001, pp 434, “Psychology: The brain, The Person and the World”, Allyn and Bacon, London Sue Hastings, 2008, “Pay Structures and Grade Determination” A Coment retrieved from http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~msf/fieldworkreport.htm on 09.04.08 Susan Small, 2008, “Women Accountants need to do some Honest sums to make the numbers add up on their career ladder”, An Article retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=16546 on 06.04.08 Tuija Virkki, 2008, “ The Art of Pacifying and Aggressive Client: ‘Feminine’ Skills and Preventing Violence in Caring Work” Journal of Gender, Work and Organisation. Vol. 15. No.1 p.72-87 “Women accountants have more workplace equality”, 2007, [Internet], accessed from http://www.itweek.co.uk/accountancyage/news/2204479/greater-playing-field-women on 06.04.08 “Women lawyer’s role in spotlight”, 2005, [Internet], BBC News updated on 22.06.2005 accessed from http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4116946.stm “Women Still vexed over IT pay gap”, A news release from the Register accessed from . http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/09/women_pay_gap/ on 09.04.08 . Read More