Women's Work and its Effects on Personal Wellbeing and Satisfaction with Life: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study
Main Article Content
Keywords
Life satisfaction, subjective wellbeing, Work-life balance, Working women
Abstract
Background: Women’s participation in the workforce has increased substantially, raising important questions about how employment is associated with their subjective well-being and satisfaction with life. This study aimed to assess differences in personal well-being and life satisfaction between working and non-working women and to identify their significant socio-demographic and occupational predictors. Methods:A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 402 women (192 working, 210 non-working) attending outpatient clinics at Mansoura University and primary healthcare centers. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic factors, occupational characteristics, the Personal Well-being Index–Adult (PWI-A), and the Life Satisfaction Scale(LSS). Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses identified the independent predictors. Results: Working women reported significantly higher well-being (PWI-A: 72.06 ± 13.03) and life satisfaction (LSS: 21.52 ± 5.76) than non-working women (PWI-A: 67.42 ± 10.14; LSS: 17.55 ± 5.91). University education (AOR = 2.81) and sufficient income (AOR = 2.94) were strong predictors of higher wellbeing. Subjective well-being (AOR = 21.67) was a significant predictor of life satisfaction. Among working women, professional (AOR = 4.76) and administrative/technical occupations (AOR = 7.40), and absence of shift work (AOR = 6.53) were associated with better wellbeing. Shorter working hours (≤40 h/week; AOR = 14.34) were linked to higher life satisfaction. Conclusion: In Mansoura, working women exhibit higher subjective well-being and life satisfaction than non-working women. These outcomes were associated with education, income, and occupational conditions. Improving work conditions may contribute to better well-being among working women.
References
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39. Gorry A, Gorry D, Slavov SN. Does retirement improve health and life satisfaction?. Health Econ. 2018;27(12):2067-2086. Doi: 10.1002/hec.3821.
40. Lombardo P, Jones W, Wang L, Shen X, Goldner EM. The fundamental association between mental health and life satisfaction: results from successive waves of a Canadian national survey. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):342. Doi: 10.1186/s12889 018 5235 x.
2. Ruggeri K, Garcia-Garzon E, Maguire Á, Matz S, Huppert F. Well-being is more than happiness and life satisfaction: a multidimensional analysis of 21 countries. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2020;18:192. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01423-y
3. Das KV, Jones-Harrell C, Fan Y, et al. Understanding subjective well-being: perspectives from psychology and public health. Public Health Rev. 2020;41:25. Doi: 10.1186/s40985-020-00142-5.
4. Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen R, Griffin S. The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985;49(1):71 75. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
5. Cintantya D, Nurtjahjanti H. Hubungan antara work-life balance dengan subjective well-being pada sopir taksi PT. J Empati. 2020;7(1):339-344. Doi: https://doi.org/10.14710/empati.2018.20246
6. Machhi YV, Thakor ID. Life satisfaction among working and non working women. Int J Indian Psychol. 2024;12(1):1676-1682. Doi: 10.25215/1201.155.
7. Kuykendall L, Tay L, Ng V. Leisure engagement and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2015;141(2):364. Doi: 10.1037/a0038508
8. Elegbede C, Abidogun M. Women’s experience of balancing work and family roles: counselling strategies for promoting work life balance. 10th International Congress on Humanities and Social Science in a Changing World; 2023:1 10. Doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.24041868.
9. Sintha D, Adnans A. The influence of work life balance to subjective well-being on women working in PTPN II. Int J Res Rev. 2024;11(7):211-220. Doi: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20240723
10. International Labour Organization (ILO). International Standard Classification of Occupations: ISCO-08. Volume I. Structure, Group Definitions and Correspondence Tables. 2012. Available online: https://www.ilo.org/publications/international-standard-classification-occupations-2008-isco-08-structure (Last Accessed on 15 September 2025).
11. Zawawi J, Hamaideh S. Satisfaction With Life Scale—Arabic Version (LSS). APA PsycTests. 2009. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/t63505-000
12. International Well-being Group. Personal Well-being Index. 5th ed. Melbourne: Australian Centre on Quality of Life, Deakin University. 2013. Available online: https://novopsych.com/assessments/well-being/personal-wellbeing-index-adult-5-pwi-a/ (Last Ac-cessed on 12 May 2025).
13. Khor S, Cummins RA, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, et al. Australian Unity Well-being Index: – Report 36: Social connectedness and wellbeing. Geelong: Australian Centre on Quality of Life, School of Psychology, Deakin University. 2020. Available online: http://www.acqol.com.au/publications#Open-access. (Last Ac-cessed on 12 May 2025).
14. Lotfy NA. Validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the" Personal Well-being Index-Adults" on adults with hearing impairment. Health Promot Perspect. 2020;10(3):250-256. Doi: 10.34172/hpp.2020.39
15. Tomyn AJ, Weinberg MK, Cummins RA. Intervention efficacy among ‘at risk’adolescents: a test of subjec-tive well-being homeostasis theory. Soc Indic Res. 2015;120(3):883-895. Doi: 10.1007/s11205-014-0619-5
16. Sinha S. Multiple roles of working women and psychological well-being. Ind Psychiatry J. 2017;26(2):171-177. Doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_70_16
17. Jalil MF, Ali A. The influence of meaningful work on the mental health of SME employees in the COVID-19 era: can coping strategies mediate the relationship?. BMC Public Health. 2023;23:2435. Doi: 10.1186/s12889‑023‑17347‑3
18. Kuppusamy J, Angusamy A, Anantharaman RN. Life Satisfaction among working women in a Southeast Asian country. Rev Appl Socio Econ Res. 2023;25(1):125-137. Doi: https://doi.org/10.54609/reaser.v25i1.209
19. Lu Z, Yan S, Jones J, He Y, She Q. From housewives to employees, the mental benefits of employment across women with different gender role attitudes and parenthood status. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(5):4364. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054364
20. Zhang Y, Gao Y, Zhan C, Liu T, Li X. Subjective Well-Being of Professional Females: A Case Study of Dalian High-Tech Industrial Zone. Front Psychol. 2022;13:904298. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.904298
21. Agnes M, Akhila PJ. Mental Health and Life Satisfaction: A Comparative Study Among Working and Non-Working Women. Int J Indian Psychol. 2023;11(2). Doi: https://doi.org/10.25215/1102.230
22. Sharma V, Rana P, Tripathy M. A Comparative Study of Life Satisfaction between Working and Non-Working Women in A Spiritual Environment. Int J Arts Humanities Soc Stud. 2023;5(3):52-54. Doi: 10.5281/zenodo.8026610
23. Boehm JK, Peterson C, Kivimaki M, Kubzansky L. A prospective study of positive psychological well-being and coronary heart disease. Health Psychol. 2011;30(3):259. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023124
24. Almeida PM, Ramos PA. The Subjectivity of Subjective Well-Being. SAGE Open. 2025;15(1). Doi: 10.1177/21582440251329860
25. Diener E, Lucas RE, Oishi S. Advances and Open Questions in the Science of Subjective Well-Being. Colla-bra Psychol. 2018;4(1):15. Doi: 10.1525/collabra.115
26. Tran DB, Pham TDN, Nguyen TT. The influence of education on women’s well-being: Evidence from Aus-tralia. PLoS One. 2021;16(3):e0247765. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247765
27. Özer U, Fidrmuc J. Education, income, and subjective wellbeing: Cross-country evidence. J Happiness Stud. 2025;26(1):45–67. Doi: https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.1552896
28. Duke N, Macmillan R. Schooling, skills, and self rated health: A test of conventional wisdom on the rela-tionship between educational attainment and health. Sociol Educ. 2016;89(3):171 206. Doi: 10.1177/0038040716653168.
29. Lee KS, Yang Y. Educational attainment and emotional well-being in adolescence and adulthood. SSM Ment Health. 2022;2:100138. Doi: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100138
30. Salinas-Jiménez MDM, Artés J, Salinas-Jiménez J. How do educational attainment and occupational and wage-earner statuses affect life satisfaction? A gender perspective study. J Happiness Stud. 2013;14(2):367-388. Doi: 10.1007/s10902-012-9334-6
31. Jiang YL. The path analysis of the effect of education on subjective well-being. Adv Psychol. 2019;9(4):726-738. Doi: 10.12677/AP.2019.94090.
32. Nikolaev B. Does other people's education make us less happy?. Econ Educ Rev. 2016;52:176-191. Doi: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.02.005.
33. Clausen T, Pedersen LRM, Andersen MF, Theorell T, Madsen IEH. Job autonomy and psychological well-being: A linear or a non-linear association? Eur J Work Organ Psychol. 2021;31(3):395–405. Doi: 10.1080/1359432X.2021.1972973
34. Biswas A, Harbin S, Irvin E, et al. Differences between men and women in their risk of work injury and disability: A systematic review. Am J Ind Med. 2022;65(7):576–588. Doi: 10.1002/ajim.23364.
35. Sahni S, Kaushal LA, Gupta P. Gendered differences and strategies for work-life balance: Systematic re-view based on social ecological framework perspective. Acta Psychol. 2025;256:105019. Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105019.
36. Lee HY, Bjorvatn B. Shift work, sleep, and wellbeing: Evidence from longitudinal studies. J Occup Health Psychol. 2024;29(2):123-135. Doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2024-0088.
37. Ramar K, Malhotra RK, Carden KA, et al. Sleep is essential to health: an American Academy of Sleep Medi-cine position statement. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(10):2115-2119. Doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9476.
38. Shao Q. Exploring the promoting effect of working time reduction on life satisfaction using Germany as a case study. Hum Soc Sci Commun. 2022;9(1):1-8. Doi: 10.1057/s41599-022-01480-2.
39. Gorry A, Gorry D, Slavov SN. Does retirement improve health and life satisfaction?. Health Econ. 2018;27(12):2067-2086. Doi: 10.1002/hec.3821.
40. Lombardo P, Jones W, Wang L, Shen X, Goldner EM. The fundamental association between mental health and life satisfaction: results from successive waves of a Canadian national survey. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):342. Doi: 10.1186/s12889 018 5235 x.
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03-08-2026
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Mohammed H, Awaad A, El-Gilany AH, Abdelraouf S, El-Refaay E. Women’s Work and its Effects on Personal Wellbeing and Satisfaction with Life: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study. Med Lav. 2026;117(4):18572. doi:10.23749/mdl.2026.18572
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How to Cite
1.
Mohammed H, Awaad A, El-Gilany AH, Abdelraouf S, El-Refaay E. Women’s Work and its Effects on Personal Wellbeing and Satisfaction with Life: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study. Med Lav. 2026;117(4):18572. doi:10.23749/mdl.2026.18572
