Dramatic decline in female job satisfaction since early 1990s

Women's expectations now more closely match reality and as a result these more closely match the expectations of men. Paradox of "contented female worker" has vanished as there is no longer a job satisfaction gap between men and women. Female job satisfaction has dramatically declined in Britain since the early 1990s and a gender gap no longer exists, meaning that the paradox of the "contented female worker" has vanished, new research from Lancaster University Management School reveals. However Professor Colin Green and his co-researchers foundthat rather being down to worsening job characteristics, the downward spiral occurs because women's expectations now more closely matches reality - namely they expect far more from their work, and are increasingly less satisfied in the workplace. A major original study taken from data in 1991, by Professor Andrew Clark, saw female job satisfaction rank highly compared with men, projecting this paradox. However Professor Clark also predicted that this had resulted from women's improved position in the labour force relative to their expectations and that it would be temporary, as already there was no satisfaction gap for the youngest and most educated workers in his sample. In their new paper, Paradox Lost: Disappearing Female Job Satisfaction , Professor Green and his co-researchers have proved him right, showing that as expectations of work have changed, the gap between male and female job satisfaction no longer exists.