Theories of Gender Stress Management

Psychologist and author John Gray delivered a fascinating dealing with stress speech during which he discussed the differences in work styles between men and women. According to Gray, there are a variety of differences in the brain of a man and woman that affect the ways they react to things, recover from stress and interact with others an environment prone to stress and competition.

One of the most interesting points made by Gray was how estrogen and testosterone levels in the body impact how quickly an individual recovers from a stressful situation. He concludes that the estrogen in a woman's body makes it take longer for women to recover or move forward from a tense or confrontational experience. Men, on the other hand, recover almost immediately due to higher testosterone levels.

This information is crucial for the workplace environment as it means that a problem between two people -- a man and a woman -- could continue to cause tension even after it's been solved because women will still be feeling stress from it for a period afterwards.

John Gray's dealing with stress speech presents interesting ways to understand the dynamics between males and females at work.