Previous studies show inconsistencies in the relation between sex and occupational stress. Most researchers have limited their focus to the intraorganizational structure, whereas this study explored the effect of type of organization and sex of employee on occupational stress. The researcher compared data (15 men, 25 women) from the nonprofit New York City Department of Administrative Services to archival data (12 men, 23 women; Cioffi, 1997) from a for-profit New York City pharmaceutical company. The Job Stress Survey (JSS; Spielberger, 1994), a self-report instrument, was used to measure the severity and frequency of occupational stress. As predicted, results indicated that employees perceive more occupational stress in nonprofit than in for-profit organizations. However, contrary to predictions, results indicated that there are sex differences in perceived occupational stress: Men report more stress than women in most situations.

Faculty Supervisor: Linda Solomon

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