Stress--Korean Style

This Chosun Ilbo article on stress is interesting...Especially the causes respect to gender and martial status. I agree with most of the findings in my experiences with Koreans.

The greatest cause of distress to married women in 2005 was their husbands, but married men were most upset by their colleagues.

According to the survey 30 percent of 6,555 married female respondents said it was their husbands who depressed them most this year. This was followed by colleagues and in-laws with 27 percent each and children with 17 percent.

In stark contrast, a whopping 76 percent of male respondents reported their bosses and juniors distressed them most, while 15 percent cited their wives and 7 percent their children, suggesting that men and women remain wired differently when it comes to stress.

Asked when they are most stressed, most women answered when they have to work as well as handle the household on their own (35 percent), when their children disobey them or fall sick (20 percent), when their mothers-in-law butt into their affairs or scold them (17 percent), and when their husbands do not bother to lift a finger during the holidays (16 percent).

Yet 47 percent of male respondents said they were most stressed when their bosses were being demanding or when their promotion was delayed, while 19 percent cited times when they feel they are lagging behind their colleagues and 15 percent when they come home tired after work and their wives ask them to help clean the house.