The weaker sex? Men in women's working conditions report similar health symptoms.

Recent studies have shown that women factory workers report more health symptoms than men. Reporting of health symptoms by 661 workers at nine poultry slaughterhouses in Québec was examined to determine whether this difference has its origins in sex-specific working conditions. More women than men report that their jobs involve standing still, repetitive movements, and a very rapid work rate. While women workers reported more health symptoms, these symptoms primarily affected the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, and were related to ergonomic and organizational job characteristics. Reported symptom levels were in closer agreement for subsamples of women and men with similar working conditions. This study demonstrates the importance of considering environmental, organizational, and ergonomic conditions at the work station as constituents of a microenvironment in order to understand the complex determinants of health symptoms associated with work in female employment ghettos.