Job-Related Perceptions of Male and Female Government, Industrial, and Public Accountants

Whereas the adverse consequences of role stress are well substantiated for most occupational groups, the relationship between this phenomenon and other job-related factors in accountants has received relatively less attention. The limited past research involving accountants has either excluded female accountants or failed to report data by sex. Moreover, previous research has largely excluded accountants in government settings, focusing primarily on industrial and public accountants. In view of these limitations, the present investigations examined the relationships among role stress (i.e., role conflict and ambiguity), job-related tension, job satisfaction, and propensity to terminate employment for a national sample of both male and female accountants in public, industrial, and government accounting. Within and between sex differences for each of the three accountant groups on the five job-related variables are analyzed. Findings are discussed in terms of the uniqueness of different types of accounting jobs and pertinent implications are advanced.