Open AccessExtension request avoidance predicts greater time stress among women
Author(s) -
Ashley V. Whillans,
Jaewon Yoon,
Aurora Turek,
Grant E. Donnelly
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2105622118
Subject(s) - worry , burnout , psychology , delegation , ask price , social psychology , time management , intervention (counseling) , stress (linguistics) , clinical psychology , computer science , anxiety , business , economics , management , finance , psychiatry , operating system , linguistics , philosophy
Significance Time stress—the feeling of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them—is a societal epidemic that compromises productivity, physical health, and emotional well-being. Past research shows that women experience disproportionately greater time stress than men and has illuminated a variety of contributing factors. Across nine studies, we identify a previously unexplored predictor of this gender difference. Women avoid asking for more time to complete work tasks, even when deadlines are explicitly adjustable, undermining their well-being and task performance. We shed light on a possible solution: the implementation of formal policies to facilitate deadline extension requests. These findings advance our understanding of the gendered experience of time stress and provide a scalable organizational intervention.