In figures : 7 out of 10 women are in personal and professional mental overload

Having to constantly think about everything, all the time and for everyone

Women don't need to be drawn a picture : 97% of them know what we're talking about when it comes to mental load. For 52%, it is the fact that " you have to constantly think about everything, all the time and for everyone ". For the 14% most burdened by this burden, this translates into " the impression of being overwhelmed, of not getting by on a daily basis ".

The housewife and the manager

The mental load is associated with responsibilities correlated with domestic and family tasks: household chores, management of children and/or parents with a loss of autonomy, budget management, etc. Thus, even if they do not carry out the housekeeping operations, school follow-up, support for relatives, etc. they feel accountable for their proper execution. 2/3 of women are in some way the " managers " of the household compared to 1/3 who share this responsibility equally with their spouse. However, the latter figure rises to 47% among women who supervise at least 5 people in their professional sphere. In other words, the more they eat at work, the more we share in the families.

The professional mental load

Yes, but there is also a professional mental load that 71% of women feel is excessive. This professional mental load is first and foremost everything that has to do with the care given to the collective well-being through a multitude of attentions that range from the integration of newcomers to the organization of farewell parties, including the comfort of colleagues, the transmission of informal codes, the conviviality of the workspace, the regulation of tensions... Only 3% of men do it alone, compared to 53% of women.

This " glue work " is essential to the performance of companies :  it holds the collective together, facilitates communication, contributes to the retention of talent, promotes productivity. But it is largely invisible and obviously undervalued. One wonders if indulging in this " glue work " is not even a disqualifying factor, as argued by researchers Linda Babcock, Maria P. Recalde and Lise Vesterlund , who believe that the transposition of a domestic role deemed to be female into the professional sphere undermines women's careers .

Significant impacts on the career... And women's health

There is no doubt that the mental load has an impact on women's professional lives: 52% believe that it degrades their daily work life (lack of concentration, time management difficulties, loss of productivity, etc.) and 22% that it indirectly restricts their horizons for progress (renunciation of developments, perception of less availability by management, etc.). ambiguities with regard to ambition because of the increase in responsibilities that would be represented by taking up a higher position...).

Women's mental load is also felt in their relationships with those around them: 18% mention couple tensions and 10% consider that their availability for their children is greatly altered. So, it's the great slide of guilt : constantly thinking about others, especially those we love, should not lead to them being less supportive... Except when it's too much !

And when it's too much, women's health suffers. 87% of the women surveyed believe that the mental load, whether personal or professional, has an impact on their physical and/or mental health. They first mention chronic fatigue or even symptoms of exhaustion, then sleep disorders, difficulty disconnecting and relaxing, anxiety, stomach aches or headaches and for 14% of them symptoms of depression.

How can we lighten the mental load of women ?

When asked about ways to reduce their mental load, the women in the Ifop panel certainly express the need to act on their well-being themselves (knowing how to take time for oneself is important for 81%, reducing the level of demands on domestic tasks is a promise made by 70%) but also calls for organisational and societal recourse.

Among these organizational remedies, some address family life, revolving mainly around a more equitable sharing of domestic responsibilities and better communication within the home to make the mental load visible.

Others are focusing more on employers. The first step is to regain a certain permeability between the space-times of professional and personal life (67% of respondents). But it is also a question of opening up managerial and collaborative dialogue on the planning of work, its distribution and its valuation.