Multitasking is their own worst enemy, writes Margaret Harris

Women's tendency to multi-task, and their particular response to stressful situations, make them vulnerable to workplace stress.

Dr Judy Jaye of The Voice Clinic says women are often their own worst enemies when it comes to stress. "Women are particularly at risk of increased stress levels and ultimately burn out because of the multiple hats they wear and roles they play.

''To remedy this, women should take a look at their strengths and limitations; learn how to delegate and ultimately, strive for excellence, not perfection."

In addition, women respond differently to stress. In general, women tend to be more emotional and take stressful situations more personally than men. For example, they become more emotional, whereas men tend to bottle it up more, says Andi Bengis, an occupational therapist.

One of the biggest causes of stress for women is trying to balance their work and home commitments. "Many women are breadwinners and have stressful jobs while still having to worry about their home responsibilities, like sick children and lift schemes. Women still tend to be paid less than their male counterparts, which is an added stress, as well as having to face sexual discrimination issues far more than men," says Bengis.

The view that women can have it all means women have to try to fulfil multiple roles. However, many women have discovered that "having it all" can take everything out of you. "There are very few companies that allow for flexible work hours that can help women to manage their homes and their kids without disrupting their work. This is very stressful because a woman may need to take leave to care for an ill child or attend school functions, and these are often viewed as an inconvenience to management," says Bengis. She says holidays can be a particularly stressful time for mothers as they have to make arrangements to keep their children safe and occupied while they are at work. "I think that this factor contributes a lot to the fact that more women are diagnosed with depression than men - women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with a mood disorder and this is attributed to greater stressors, childbirth, learned helplessness and hormonal effects." She adds that the limited length (four months) and reduced payments during maternity leave also contribute to this. UK mothers get 11 months.

Bengis says some signs of stress are headaches, neck and shoulder pain and persistent tiredness. These are then followed by more intense symptoms, such as negative feelings; loss of interest in work; anxiety symptoms, including heart palpitations, shortness of breath and feelings of being out of control; loss or increase in appetite; and insomnia.

As a way to minimise stress, Jaye suggests that women look closely at the problems they have to face and decide whether they have direct, indirect or no control over them. "Having direct control means that you, personally, have power over the outcome of a situation. For example, as a businesswoman, you have direct control over your work ethic and dedication and how you apply yourself to the tasks at hand. On the other hand, if you are faced with a dilemma that is out of your realm of expertise, for example, if your child needs extra maths lessons and maths is not your forte, delegate the responsibility but not the accountability." When it comes to a no-control situation, advises Jaye, you need to learn to let go and surrender to what happens. If there is a power cut, for example, worrying will not change the situation, in fact, it will only make it much worse.

The best defence against becoming overwhelmed is setting your boundaries and sticking by them. "You can balance your home and work commitments by being committed to decisions that you make and deciding what your priorities are and sticking to them, for example, if you need to leave work at 4.30pm - stop working then, and don't take on more work than necessary."