Tired? Women and Fatigue, part 7
Jul 17th, 2006 by willa
For now, I’m going to skip over the next section which was about medical causes for fatigue, and go onto the section about work conditions, which is a little easier to tell about without checking the book for spelling and definition of medical words like endocrinal systems and pernicious anemia and so on.
The section on work conditions is the last one in the book and I found it quite helpful. It described the typical working conditions of many, obviously not all, women . Women who stay at home can experience fatigue associated with frequent lifting (small children, household objects, etc) and with other kinds of work to do with housework and childcare. They can also find themselves bored with the sameness and seeming unproductivity of their work. Boredom saps energy levels. The book made the point that labor-saving machinery in the home has made the housewife’s job easier but also more boring. There is no longer the pride and personal creativity that went into cooking and household crafts in the pre-electricity days. Having just returned from a visit to the house of a friend who works hard to bring the personal creativity back to her household management, this point struck me as a valid one. I do think homeschooling brings meaning back into the home environment at least in my case because I am more likely to learn a new craft or subject if it is one I think would benefit my children as well.
As to women in the workplace — the book says that women often end up in the kinds of jobs that either depend upon nurturing and the trade of emotions in some way —- nurse, teacher, day care provider, secretary, airplane hostess, waitress — or they have repetitious, narrow-focused jobs — in factories, the book says, women often get the more rigid, boring jobs since they are considered more capable of enduring this kind of work. I see no reason to disbelieve this since most of the working women I know have one or the other kind of job. Actually, probably the nurturing ones are most representative in my experience. I do also know lots of women doctors and professors and authors and small-business owners, who seem to fit into a different category than either of the ones dealt with in the book.
Anyway, here is the relevant part. Women in nurturing jobs have to pay emotional coin to some extent in return for the income. That is a drain especially in the cases where the situation becomes emotionally over-demanding. She talks about air hostesses but I will mention nursing, since I’ve been in so many hospitals. It is emotional to deal with sick people and their sometimes unfair and angry or grieving relatives. The nurses bear the biggest burden of emotional support whereas the doctors vary quite widely in their bedside manner; nurturing may be a bonus but is not an integral part of their job description. My friend who is a family therapist finds her work draining enough that she has left it temporarily to find more routine, less emotionally challenging employment, at least in the years when her daughter is small.
But routine, narrow-focused work comes at a price too because women who aren’t able to bring their whole selves to their work will be frustrated by that, which again is a fatigue-producer. The book makes some suggestions for balancing out the two aspects — avoiding or compensating for excessive emotional drain of the nurturing jobs, and finding ways to broaden restricted job descriptions and avoid career dead-ends. This was not of direct interest to me right now. The main message for me was to be conscious that a balance between variety and routine is the best way to feel satisfied in one’s work, and work at an optimum level of energy.
Also the idea of customizing one’s own life and environment, whether working at home or away from it. Not a new idea, but something to think about. She makes the point that sometimes developing a talent or interest can lead to an at-home source of income, which is very true. I know lots of women (and men) who have done it this way. I have another library sale book called Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow which I haven’t read yet, but it’s on this general topic and this does relate more than a bit to unschooling.
Hi Willa-
I found this chapter you described very true in my case. The mundane saps me. The creative part energizes me. Books on tape have helped immesntly as I do mundane things. I wonder if I don’t see the value of the dignity or work or the Little Way — if I try and ignore my work when I should be embracing it, even the mundaness of it?
Or maybe sometimes embrace it and then sometimes escape with books on tape/music? :)
I have enjoyed my work at home with the pet sitting. That really energizes me… writing the contracts, marketing, and the dogs. I find it is a nice mix.
Also, I remember my mom was never happy at home. I think b/c she felt she had not choice. I think maybe when we can have some control over our circumstances it give us energy. But also, there is the embracing of vocation, which give us peace, too.
Rambling..
Enjoying your posts!
I enjoyed your post Willa AND your rambling, Cindy! Good points in both. I especially related to the point about being bored because of the labor saving machinery. Not that I WANT to give up my washing machine, lol, but I can see how what we do today *seems* so much less important and meaningful than in days past.
Just popping by to see what conversation is happening in the comments and I would add that it is well documented that stress is related to lack of control. So if fatigue is related to stress then some of the points Cindy makes are very valid.
Research also shows that “labour saving devices” did not reduce the amount of time women spent on housework. Instead, standards increased. Personally, I don’t think it is devaluing housework to accept that and have it become a more minor part of the work one does in the home. Shifting to calling it house management might be a stage on that path. But it may also require a shift in the importance of that set of activities to one’s identity. Much of what is required in that field nowadays is not what we might call meaningful work and setting higher standards and doing more of it doesn’t change that. This does give us the opportunity to combine other kinds of meaningful work (pet-sitting for Cindy, maybe writing for Willa, etc) with a primary role as a mother and house manager.
Thanks for all the comments throughout the posts, they’ve been a bonus in giving me ideas and strategies beyond the scope of the book.
JoVE, thanks for mentioning that about the housework. The book brought that up too. When the labor-saving devices came in and the kids and dad went off to spend their day largely elsewhere, there became more of a House Beautiful standard to live up to.
The book advises loosening up housekeeping standards to acceptable and healthy rather than picture-perfect. I suppose it’s a bit like trying to stay fit and healthy without going to the extreme of dieting and working out to try to achieve a model-type figure, and feeling guilty because it’s impossible to actually get there.
Also, delegation… hire help, get the husband and kids involved. She says that women generally seem to have the impression that the household work is their job even if they are already working hard in other areas.