If mental workload has become a popular expression, it is because many women, and men too, want domestic tasks, such as work, to weigh less in their daily lives. How does it manifest? What concrete solutions to reduce it? We take stock.
women…and that of men”2), the psychiatrist Aurélia Schneider insists on the fact that “the mental load is neither an accumulation nor a (simple) addition of tasks; nor is it living two days in one. It is the fact of coexist in two worlds at once and not just one after the other ».
Author of “I stop doing too much” (Kennes editions), her psychiatrist colleague Caroline Depuydt sums it up as follows: “The mental workload is all those activities that we have in mind and which leave us no respite. It is the fact of feeling an organizational overload. It is, for example, thinking about children while you are at work”.
Weight borne mostly by women
The mental load is mainly conjugated in the feminine. Before becoming a popular expression in recent years, it was a concept developed in sociology in the 1980s, particularly in the context of the research work of Monique Haicault who was interested in “the double day of working women”. (3)
Decades later, domestic work and childcare still fall more on women than men. In 2010, women did 71% of housework and 65% of parenting, according to theInsee. At the time, they spent 1h40 more each day than men on domestic work.
A survey carried out by theInsee in spring 2020, after the first confinement, shows that even today, women continue to suffer from a highly unequal distribution of tasks within the couple. This impacts the balance between their professional time and their personal time, at the risk of increasing the mental load they experience.
“The mental burden is feminine. But men are no exception either. They are notably victims of the fact that society values the cult of performance”, tempers Caroline Depuydt, also deputy medical director of a group of psychiatric hospitals in Belgium.
The mental load of caregivers
9.3 million French people say they are caregiversthat is to say “provide regular assistance to a loved one with a disability or loss of autonomy”, whether in daily activities, as moral support or financially. Between the ages of 55 and 64, one person in four is affected.Caregivers who must reconcile the support of their loved one with their professional activity, when they are still employed, as well as their family, personal life, etc. can also be victims of too heavy a mental load.
A stress factor that can lead to burnout, depression…
Originating in sociology, should mental workload only be perceived as a social phenomenon? “We can bring it closer to the medical, the psychological and the psycho-pathological because it will generate stress. Acute stress is a physiological reaction of the body, a kind of “rush forward”. But it is supposed to stop, ”replies Caroline Depuydt.
When the daily mental load becomes too heavy, this stress sets in. “Acute stress becomes chronic. Thus, the consequence of too high a mental load will be exhaustion which can lead to professional burn-out, parental burn-out, depression…”, warns the psychiatrist.
Spot the red flags
In prevention, it is advisable to be on the lookout for signals that warn of an excessive mental load. ” Irritability, fatigue, emotions that overwhelm you…The accumulation of physical, mental and emotional signs is a warning signal. Also pay attention to symptoms that persist over timelike feeling tired for several weeks,” describes Caroline Depuydt.
Activate multiple levers to reduce pressure
To turn the tide, several levers can be activated. We can act individually, at our level, believes Aurélia Schneider. In his work (2)the psychiatrist gives practical advice through her “7D rule”.
Act at your level: the 7D rule of Dr Aurélia Schneider
1) Discern….the components of his mental workload : Do a did list “the most exact and precise list of all the things done in a day” in order to objectify the tasks performed on a daily basis. Conversely, a to do list (to-do list) can be stressful.
2) Decrease the tyranny of “you have to… I have to…”.
3) Unschedule…tasksexonerating guilt.
4) Disconnect : “Laptop, tablet, computers at home and at work, the temptation to be connected is everywhere. And this 24-hour connection, while empowering and exciting, fragments our lives.”
5) Relaxation… through simple exercises like relaxing your jaws, doing the rag doll “you close your eyes and open your mouth slightly, the lower jaw relaxed. Then, you decide to VOLUNTARILY relax all of your muscles” or even massage his face (forehead, ears, scalp).
6) Candy : treat each other friendly and accept compliments, reward yourself, treat your body well by practicing physical activities (yoga, Pilates, gentle gymnastics with stretching, swimming), etc.
7) Dance now ! In reference to La Fontaine’s fable “The cicada and the ant”. “You start timidly to live a little for yourself, to get out of the obligation to have and want to do everything, plan everything, calculate everything”.
Source: “The mental load of women…and that of men”, Dr Aurélia Schneider (Larousse editions)
Since mental workload is often linked to a poor distribution of tasks in the home, specialists also agree thata rebalancing is needed with greater participation of fathers. Finally, as the mental load most of the time incorporates a professional component, measures must also be taken in the context of work.
This requires, in particular, better listening to the needs of workers, says ergonomist Lisa Jeanson, who has conducted research on mental workload in the automotive industry. “Work must take ownership of the issues related to a better balance between private and professional life, taking into account telework and the fact that new generations are shaking up codes. It is important to refocus organizations on the needs of women and men”.
In other words, it is also by improving well-being at work that we will lighten the mental load of women… and men.
Mental workload at work: history and definition
In the 1980s, sociology took hold of the notion of mental workload to reflect the situation of women who had to combine work and domestic tasks. But previously, this expression had already burst into the professional environment. “The term has been used in the context of work, in ergonomics, since the 1960s when we began to wonder about the mental load of pilots and controllers because safety depends on their vigilance”, explains ergonomist Lisa Jeanson, doctor in ergonomics. The specialist distinguishes three components of mental workload at work.
- la charge cognitive : “what I have to do compared to what I know how to do”
- psychic load : “the impact that work has on me according to my emotional state, my experience, my education…”
- time pressure “the time I have to do my job, knowing that my availability will be limited if I come to work with personal concerns”.
“In the event of an imbalance between these three components, there is a risk of making mistakes and seeing your well-being deteriorate,” warns the specialist.
(1) The comic strip “Fallait demande” is now included in “Un autre regard 2”, Emma (Massot editions).
(2) The mental workload of women…and that of men”, Dr Aurélia Schneider (Larousse editions).
(3) Haicault Monica. “The ordinary management of life in two”. In: Sociology of work, N°3, 1984
- Victory N’Sonde
- Photo credit: iStock
2023-06-15 07:00:47
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