Sex differences in the relationship between personal projects and job satisfaction

This study analyzes the relationship between job satisfaction and the characteristics and compatibility of personal activities in the lives of working men and women. It was hypothesized that women, relative to men, may experience an overload of personal projects leading to greater project conflict and subsequent lowering of job satisfaction. Seventy-three men and 76 women employed by Canadian National at their Montreal Headquarters were assessed with Personal Projects Analysis techniques (Little, in press) to examine their evaluations of current work and non-work activities on 16 dimensions. A battery of job satisfaction measures served as quasi-dependent variables. Results indicate convergence among measures of job satisfaction, the predictability of job satisfaction from personal project dimensions, and important sex differences in the project systems of men and women. While the data do not support the hypothesis that women experience greater project load and conflict leading to lower job satisfaction, they do suggest that perceived project control plays an important mediating role in the relationship between project system variables and job satisfaction. Discussion is centered upon the implications of the data for examining current trends in the sharing of non-work projects in families, and on methodological suggestions for expanding and clarifying the present findings.