Volunteering in management or committee roles was related to greater positive emotions, but only for women. Why? We’re not sure. Maybe women developed better communication skills ten thousand years ago, keeping the campfire burning and taking care of the children while the men were out silently hunting.
So this is an odd finding until you think about gender roles. Men seem to spend a lot of time focused on their status in the hierarchy. On a committee or a management team, status seeking creates a certain amount of tension. The women in the room are often mentally eye rolling as men find ways of asserting themselves. On the other hand, women are more relationship oriented and appreciate social stimulation of group process. They’re often quite good at maintaining the emotional orientation of the group.
