Job conditions for workers ages 25–71 in 2015, by education and gender
No college degree | College degree | Percentage-point difference | Percent difference | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
Working time arrangements are set by company with no possibility for changes | 48% | 40% | 18% | 27% | 30 ppt. | 14 ppt. | 166% | 51% |
Work is unpredictable or irregular | 10% | 13% | 8% | 6% | 2 ppt. | 6 ppt. | 21% | 102% |
Job involves: | ||||||||
Lifting heavy loads or lifting people | 68% | 43% | 27% | 22% | 41 ppt. | 21 ppt. | 150% | 92% |
Tiring or painful positions | 57% | 43% | 26% | 22% | 30 ppt. | 21 ppt. | 115% | 93% |
Standing all or almost all of the time | 50% | 38% | 16% | 18% | 34 ppt. | 21 ppt. | 222% | 117% |
At least one of the above | 80% | 63% | 42% | 39% | 38 ppt. | 24 ppt. | 90% | 60% |
Repetitive hand/arm movements | 82% | 81% | 60% | 68% | 21 ppt. | 13 ppt. | 35% | 19% |
Workers are subject to one or more of the following at work: | ||||||||
Verbal abuse (in past month) | 16% | 14% | 8% | 10% | 7 ppt. | 4 ppt. | 86% | 39% |
Humiliating behavior (in past month) | 13% | 8% | 5% | 7% | 8 ppt. | 1 ppt. | 150% | 12% |
Unwanted sexual attention (in past month) | 0.90% | 6.30% | 0.70% | 2.70% | 0.20 ppt. | 3.60 ppt. | 29% | 133% |
Bullying/harassment including sexual harassment (in past year) | 11% | 12% | 8% | 10% | 3 ppt. | 2 ppt. | 36% | 20% |
Physical violence (in past year) | 2.20% | 1.70% | 1.60% | 0.20% | 0.60 ppt. | 1.50 ppt. | 38% | 750% |
Any of the above | 24% | 19% | 15% | 18% | 9 ppt. | 2 ppt. | 62% | 10% |
Source: American Working Conditions Survey 2015 data from Maestas et al. 2017