DO high-flying wives make husbands more stressed? Well, it seems so according to research cited by Public Health Malaysia’s Facebook page.
Based on a study published by Society for Personality and Social Psychology entitled ‘Spousal Relative Income and Male Psychological Distress’, husbands will have less stress if their wives work and their remuneration contribute to 40% of the household income.
“For example, if a husband earns RM3,000 and the wife earns RM2,000, the former will have less stress.
“However, a husband will start feeling uncomfortable if the wife starts contributing to more than 40% of the household income. That is the situation if both partners earn RM3,000 equally,” it added.
The study stated that the husband would get very stressed if the wife starts earning more than the husband.
“The husband gets very stressed if he earns RM3,000 while the wife earns RM10,000,” it mentioned.
The page administrator then queried: “Could this be why husbands don’t like finding partners who earn more than them?”
The research could be found here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167219883611
It is to note that the study was published on Oct 28, 2019.
However, netizens were unimpressed with the study and said it does not reflect the realities of life, especially among urban dwellers.
“Bagi saya, suami tu bodoh (kalau) rasa tergugat dgn isterinya yg bergaji tinggi atau bekerjaya. Patut support sesama sendiri. Dah namanya suami isteri kan, kena lah team work. Ketepikan ego masing² dan sama² langsaikan hutang keluarga, buat simpanan bersama dan jugak kumpulkan dana pelajaran utk anak²,” said user Lovie Gilbert.
(To me, the husband must be a fool if he feels threatened by his wife’s higher income and better career. We must support one another, that is family. Cast aside personal egos and take up family responsibilities together, while keeping some savings for future needs.)
User Laila Ismail added: “Kenapa nak stress? Kan lebih baik upgrade gaji sendiri tu jadi lebih tinggi. Aduihhh. Jangan stress2.Bahaya untuk keluarga. Isteri tak kisah pun kalau gaji lagi tinggi asalkan suami tahu sama2 bantu membantu uruskan keluarga.”
(Why the stress? It’s better to focus on getting better pay, right? Don’t get worked up over this. Wives don’t really care if husbands are paid lower than them as long as both cooperate to handle the household)
Netizen Vatsala Nair Manoharan remarked: “Only men who are product of patriarchy and male chauvinism will have issues. Really!!! you people actually write contents like this that gender stereotyping?
“Get yourself educated first, you could also be a product of the same system.” – Feb 8, 2022
