Work & Home Life Pressures Changing Way We Worry

Monday, 15 March 2004, 9:05 am
Press Release: Tower

Work And Home Life Pressures Changing The Way We Worry

Auckland, - One year on from the first Tower/TNS ‘What Worries New Zealanders’ survey, results indicate that changing roles and responsibilities at home and at work, are shifting the focus of our worries away from money, towards the family.

The latest survey looks at the differences between men and women’s worries in relation to family and work. Men are finding a change in roles and responsibilities at home and at work creates more worries for them, while women are feeling increased pressure to do everything.

Tower New Zealand’s head of marketing, Paul Head, said the survey provides an interesting insight into how our worries are changing, and the different ways these affect men and women.

“There has been a fundamental shift in what we worry about most in the last twelve months. Family matters have become the focus, taking over from money and society, however these still remain significant worries,” he said

“The latest survey results emphasise the importance of trying to find the right balance between work and home life today, and careful financial planning to reduce worry.”

Statistics from the latest TOWER/TNS ‘What Worries New Zealanders’ survey highlight 39% of working mums are definitely worried about the ‘stay at home mum’ being a thing of the past, even if not practical for some, compared with 19% of dads.

One in five survey respondents felt they frequently worry about finding the right balance between work and home life, particularly for those with children. Particularly for fFemales aged between 25 and 34 years worry most, with more than half frequently worrying about finding the right balance, compared with 32% of males in the same age group.

TOWER/TNS spokesperson, Rebekah Yock, said the qualitative research also highlights some interesting views amongst women about working and parenting.

“For some women the idea of staying at home is either a luxury few can afford, and for others it’s something their mothers did and they’re glad they don’t have to do,” she said.

Other statistics on the subject of gender showed: One in five New Zealand men and women frequently worry about spending enough time with their kids An equal number frequently worry about being a good role model for their child, this was more prevalent amongst lower income families One in four women frequently worry about the sacrifices they have to make to have a family today, compared with one in five men Almost one in three females aged between 25 and 34 frequently worry about getting too old to have children Sixty nine per cent of females believe that in general women do worry more than men, however 31% of men disagree In the latest survey results women worry more than men about work, family, health, money, and time, while men out-worried women by 4% (39% men and 35% women) on societal issues. In general women worry more than men about earning more than their partner

Ms Yock also said that worries related to the work place again reflect quite a difference between men and women.

“For men a job provides a sense of security for both themselves and their family. Whereas as for women the job was more a sense of personal satisfaction, it’s more than just being a mum, its important for them to be able to do both,” she said.

On the subject of pay equality 44% of women at least sometimes worry about the issue, compared with only 35% of men.

One Year On One year on from the first ‘What Worries New Zealanders’ survey, TOWER has re-visited the six main subjects of family, money, health, work, time and society to see how as a nation our worries are changing.

There has been an 11.5% increase overall in family worries, driven by a 16% increase to 44% of females worrying more frequently in the latest survey.

Society has remained a significant worry, staying in second spot, and 22% more men are often worrying more frequently about societal issues.

We are 16% less worried about money than in previous surveys, although money worries remain significant. Almost one in five New Zealand men and women worry about their level of personal or household debt today. Of those, the most worried are 27% of males and females aged between 25 and 34 living in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.

Time increasingly continues to worry us, with those worrying frequently about time increasing by 17% to 28%. Twenty five per cent more people living in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch are worrying more frequently.

Health worries almost remain unchanged with 34% rarely worried about their health versus 23% frequently worrying. However the winter season obviously drives our awareness, given that in the second worries survey those that were frequently worrying had increased by 17% to 28%.

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