Levels of Desire to Join the Workforce: Its Determinants and Relation to the Well-Being of the Working Woman

Abstract

This study investigates the differences in the levels of desire of working women to join the workforce in relation to various demographic variables. It also studies the effect of these differences on the working women’s psychological and physical well-being. Various instruments were used in this study: the demographic questionnaire, the psychological symptoms scale, the psychosomatic disorders, the chronic and acute diseases scales, and the self perceived scale. The sample of the study consisted of (568) working woman, aged between (20-60) years, who have been working over three years in various private or public vocational sectors in the governorate of Amman. The results of the study revealed that most of the demographic variables have created significant differences in the desire levels of working women to join the workforce. There were also significant differences in the women’s psychological symptoms, their chronic diseases and self assessment of health status, in relation to their desire to join the workforce. There were no significant differences between the sesire levels to join the workforce and acute diseases.