A NEW STUDY shows that women are more likely than men to feel guilt and distress when they are contacted at home with work-related issues, reports Reuters.

The research, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, involved 1,042 workers from across America. It found that calls or texts involving work that were received outside working hours were more likely to impact negatively on women, regardless of whether family life was affected or not.

The more work-related contact that took place, the higher the level of distress, according to Scott Schieman of the University of Toronto, co-author of the study:

For women levels of guilt and distress seem to be correlated quite strongly with the frequency of contact. Women experience, on average, a rise in guilt and distress as you increase levels of this contact.

The findings, said Schieman, were consistent regardless of age, income and  marital or parental status. While men also suffered guilt, the study found it was significantly less than that experienced by women.

Schieman suggested this could be due to different expectations regarding the boundaries between work and home:

These forces may lead some women to question or negatively evaluate their family role performance when they’re trying to navigate work issues at home.