Ego Check

Navigating the impact of ego on women's work-life balance.

- Pragati Jalan Sureka

Ego is a term used in psychology to describe the executive functions of personality serving as the integrator of the outer and inner worlds as well as of the id and the superego. It is one of the three agencies proposed by Sigmund Freud in the description of the dynamics of the human mind; the other two being the id and the superego. The word 'ego' is taken directly from Latin, where it is the nominative of the first person singular personal pronoun and is translated as "I myself" to express emphasis. Freud introduced the structural model (id, ego, super-ego) in the essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle in 1920, in response to the unstructured ambiguity and conflicting uses of the term "the by unconscious mind". He elaborated, refined, and formalised that model in the essay The Ego and the Id in 1923.

The relationship between ego and corporate women is a complex issue that has been studied by researchers. According to a study, women executives in gladiator corporate cultures are often perceived as narcissistic individuals with "big egos". Women have to work harder to climb the corporate ladder than men, and this can lead to a heightened sense of ego.

A study revealed that female executives still face challenges in achieving work-life balance and often have to make sacrifices in their personal lives to succeed in their careers. This can lead to a sense of ego and a perception that women who prioritise their families are not serious contenders.

Women's ego can damage their relationships, both personal and professional.

Women's ego can be crushed by men who use this tactic to make them feel less valuable. It can also lead to a sense of demand and withdrawal in relationships, in turn leading to marital dissatisfaction and divorce.