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I read this article with interest, and then re-read it after I noticed a trend. Actually, it's not a new trend, but it's an annoying one.
Re-read this article, and keep an eye on who it is who is to blame for all of this stress. According to every expert in the article, it's us. It's men. We have a lopsided self-image, or maybe we can't express our emotions, or we tend to take on too much and try to be too perfect. No matter what the explanation for workplace stress and workplace suicide, what it comes down to is that men are getting it wrong.
Now, this is a good thing: if it's true, it means that we can do something about it as individuals. We can take control, change things, and make our own lives better.
What's amusing, though, is if you read any stories about women's workplace problems (think of harassment), you'll read that none of it is the woman's fault. The "experts" will use language that implies that bad things at work are being done to women, who are the helpless recipients of this badness. On the other hand, in this article the "experts" use language that implies that bad things at men's work have their roots in men's bad habits.
In a nutshell, if this had been an article about workplace stress and how it affects women, we would be reading about "unrealistic expectations of management" and "slave-driving mentality of business," not about misplaced self-worth and inability to articulate stress. This doesn't mean that the article is wrong, or that the techniques they hint at won't work; it's just an observation about how people, including "experts" colour the world differently when talking about each of the sexes.
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Hi Buster,
I agree with your analysis. There quite often seems to be a victim centered mentality when it comes to problems that women face, and it certainly isn't considered masculine to "whine" like a victim. Thus it becomes easier for people to see men's problems as "their own fault", and women's problems as men's fault, too.
Of course, in reality, I think both sexes have primary responsibility in taking control of their own lives, particularly with regard to their health. But there is also a component of external factors that contribute to men experiencing high stress at work, not the least being that they often are expected to be breadwinnders for their families (or, in this modern age, pay loads of child support in addition to supporting themselves).
Just thought I'd share these thoughts as well. They're good food for thought.
Thanks,
Scott
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