Husbands create 7 hours of extra housework a week: study

[Triana]

Husbands create 7 hours of extra housework a week: study

Fri Apr 4, 6:33 PM ET

For married women who can't figure out why they always have so much housework researchers may have the answer -- husbands.

A new study from the University of Michigan shows that having a husband creates an extra seven hours of extra housework a week for women. But a wife saves her husband from an hour of chores around the house each week.

"It's a well-known pattern. There's still a significant reallocation of labor that occurs at marriage -- men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor," said Frank Stafford, of the university's Institute for Social Research (ISR), who directed the study.

"And the situation gets worse for women when they have children," he added in a statement.

Stafford's findings are based on 2005 time-diary data from a study on income dynamics that has been conducted since 1968 at ISR.

The researchers studied diaries to assess how people spent their time and questioned men and women about how much time they spend cooking, cleaning and doing basic work around the house.

They found that young single women did the least amount of housework, at about 12 hours a week. Married women in their 60 and 70s did nearly twice that amount, while women with more than three children spent 28 hours a week cleaning, cooking and washing.

But it's not as bad as it used to be. In 1976 women did an average of 26 hours of housework a week, while men did about six, according to the study.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080404/lf_nm_life/housework_husbands_dc

[BOSSHOG]

1. I proudly do not add to those totals

My wife works full time, I'm retired. I do most of the clothes washing, all of the dish washing, at least half of the cooking and keep the house picked up and she comes home every day to a very nice home. And its kinda difficult because my Wife is full of energy and wants to do it herself.

I urge all husbands to get in the habit of helping out with the housework.

[Triana]

2. Well you're a jewel!

I hope she appreciates ya! :hug:

[BOSSHOG]

4. 34 years of marriage

and I'm still in love. I always want the house to be as near as perfect as I can get it before she comes home every evening. And, she has me well trained, I know there are certain clothes of hers that only she can wash, I'm sure you can figure out which items and which materials. I may be a cubic zirconia but I do know that I am very lucky.

[Triana]

5. Seems she's pretty luck too! (n/t)

[fed_up_mother]

38. Good for you. Mine's a keeper at 30 years of marriage.

and I still love that man madly!

[DJ13]

3. ....and were worth it!

Just kidding, here my wife works while I do most of the houswork since Im disabled.

:hi:

[Triana]

6. Great! Goes to prove there are some good ones out there!

Bless ya.

[deminatl]

7. thats sexest

:hide:

[2rth2pwr]

8. "Excluded from these 'core' housework hours were tasks like gardening, home repairs,

or washing the car." Of course once you remove all the stereotypical male tasks from the definition of housework, women will do more of what's left over, assuming some

sort of sex-based division of labor.

[WildClarySage]

9. All of the items you just mentioned are part of my day

not MrWild's. Makes me think that the actual number's higher than 7 hours...

[Triana]

13. Those are not daily tasks

Mowing lawns, fixing cars/changing oil, household repairs, taking out trash, etc. - those are things that need done only occasionally - once a week for trash - every 3-6 months or 3K miles (oil changes) - mowing the lawn every two weeks or so, a household or car repair here or there. And most people take their cars to a mechanic or hire house maintenance done for anything major.

In contrast, cooking, shopping for food, post-meal clean-up, meal-planning, daily household cleaning and laundry, ALL childcare, etc. are *daily* tasks - which must be done every day, without exception - and they take considerable time *every* day - without exception, particularly when there are two adults and possibly children to clean up after, cook, and care for. For working women, it IS a second fulltime job and one they rarely get help with.

In contrast, the occasional repairs, oil change (and most people have that done at a Jiffy Lube type place), yardwork or whatever that men typically do doesn't need done every day - and therefore is a significantly lighter (ie: NONE on many days) workload on a day-to-day basis.

Not the same.

Also, I know a LOT of women who mow the lawn, take out trash, trim shrubs, garden, and do minor household repairs THEMSELVES. My neighbor just cleaned her gutters and installed gutter guards HERSELF. I have no idea where her sig. other was - but she does have one.

I don't know ANY men who've ever cleaned a toilet bowl. Never heard of or seen one do it. Mop floors? Nope. Never seen that either. They MIGHT do it if they're not married or living with a woman. But once they're living with a significant other - those tasks typically fall to HER.

I think the article is likely fairly accurate - and I suspect that in many cases, it's more than 7 hours.

[Jim__]

17. For a couple, laundy is not a daily task. Neither is ...

... household cleaning, shopping for food, etc.

Household repairs, auto repairs, gardening, etc are cumulatively just as constant as other household chores.

If people are going to be comparing how much extra work each will have to do if they live together, they should forget about living together. They'll never survive the real stresses that occur.

[Triana]

22. cleaning is a daily chore, as is cooking and childcare and if small children..

...laundry is too. If cleaning isn't a daily chore - how many days/weeks do you let the kitchen sit uncleaned w/ dirty dishes after each meal?

[Jim__]

24. First of all, the study is about extra hours per week.

So, why eliminate tasks that generally fall to men because these are, supposedly, not daily tasks?

But the point is that if a couple is going to take some bean-counter, balance sheet approach to living together; they really shouldn't bother. Two independent adults are going to have to make major adjustments when they move in together. Things like how housework is going to be shared, should be generally agreed upon beforehand. If the general breakdown of chores are agreed upon and being followed, and one partner starts to complain about "balance", there is most likely another problem.

Studies that look for picayune differences in workload, and especially if they arbitrarily eliminate much of the workload traditionally done by one sex, are not in the least bit helpful to maintaining long term relationships.

[kdmorris]

20. My husband does all those things, Triana

I'm the "breadwinner" and he's the one that does the housework and cooking. He cleans the toilet bowls, and mops, and does the dishes and everything else around the house, including taking care of our 3 daughters for the last 10 years (I took the first 8 years and then he took over once I finished with school).

I mow the lawn, sometimes, because I need the exercise. I do the laundry sometimes because, otherwise, I wouldn't do anything around the house.

It's not fair to say that you've never heard of a man cleaning the toilet bowls. You are hearing about one now. (Seems like a couple of them checked in earlier in the thread, too)

[Triana]

23. That's great. I doubt that's the case for most working (outside the home) women though...

...in fact several studies over the years seem to indicate that it's not, for the most part.

[KneelBeforeZod]

29. Question ...

You said you have a division of labor where you work outside the home and your husband does virtually all the housework. I certainly see no problem with that.

My question is, if that is acceptable, why isn't the opposite -- where a husband works and a wife takes care of the home -- equally acceptable? Or is it acceptable? Is it more distasteful simply because of the stereotypical 1950's picture it brings?

I am an attorney, and my wife (a music teacher by trade) stays at home with the kiddos. She takes care of the bulk of the housework during the week -- including all of the cooking (as I have a distinct lack of talent for anything other than hotdogs, hot pockets or grilled cheese), all of the laundry, and most of the general housekeeping (beds, clutter, kids, etc.). I do a bit more on the weekend -- particularly in clutter-cleanup and kid-watching, as well as generic car maintenance and repairs, lawn work, and occasional home maintenance. But, even including the stuff I do on the weekend ... the split is much closer to 80-20 than 50-50.

This was the arrangement we came up with once the kids came along -- and she seems happy with it (not having to work until the kids are in Kindergarten). Does expecting my wife to care for the bulk of the housework make me inherently sexist, or is this an acceptable arrangement if it is agreed upon by both parties?

Just looking for a feminst perspective out of sheer curiosity.

Z

[kdmorris]

30. I think that anything that is agreed upon is acceptable.

I stayed home with the children for the first 8 years, when they were babies/toddlers/elementary school. At that point, I did most of the housework, although the split was a little less fair then, because it is a bit harder to care for babies than it is to care for teenagers. For a while, when we were both working outside the home, the split was probably closer to 50-50%, but I never really stopped to measure it. He hated vacuuming, I hated going to the laundry mat. So, we each did what the other hated. Things we both hated got traded off (like dishes).

I am not the type of feminist that believes every woman should go out and get a job and all the domestic duties should be split exactly 50-50. For me, it's about choice and about the give and take that comes with being married. As long as everyone is happy with the arrangement and no one is being forced to do something, then I believe it's fine. For me, feminism is about choice. If a woman wants to stay home with her children and it fulfills her to make play-dough art and drapes, then she should be free to do so. If a woman wants to get a PhD and work in a research laboratory, she should be allowed to do that, as well, with equal pay and status. And, for me, men should have the same choice without making them feel like crap.

Marriage is a partnership. That doesn't mean 50-50. My grandmother once said "Marriage isn't 50-50. Both people have to give 100% or it won't work". I believe she was right.

[lukasahero]

31. I would say it's a perfectly acceptable arrangement with one caveat

Assuming it is agreed to by both parties is one thing but we also have to consider why it's financially a more viable option for most situations. i.e. - most of the time, the woman stays home because she earns less. It's a valuable exercise to at least consider why that is. Sometimes it's choice, sometimes it's not. So while the "decision" was mutually agreed upon, was the playing field for the decision actually level?

FTR - I've had two glasses of wine and don't want to ramble but I do want to say that my husband is far and away the most involved man I have ever known. He cleaned his own bathrooms long before we met and still does today (8 years after moving in together.) He's recently "retired" (health reasons) and suddenly I am the "breadwinner" while he stays home and cares for the house, dog, etc. It has been an interesting journey. I have a lot of thoughts on this issue.

[Boojatta]

35. This is a hidden opportunity to create a very successful business!

Assuming it is agreed to by both parties is one thing but we also have to consider why it's financially a more viable option for most situations. i.e. - most of the time, the woman stays home because she earns less. It's a valuable exercise to at least consider why that is.

If there were dating websites for low-income men and medium-to-high-income women, then it would be easier for a woman to meet a man who earns less than she earns.

[dmallind]

26. I do

I clean toilet bowls etc far more than my wife does. I do more laundry I would guess too. I do LESS yardwork, because she doesn't mind and I hate it.

Generalizing from experience is never a good idea to me (pun intended).

[fed_up_mother]

41. Just had to point out that you can't possibly live in the south

if you think lawn mowing is done every couple of weeks. LOL

Taking care of the yard is several hours of hard work in 100 degree weather every Saturday over here for several months of the year. (What I would give to afford lawn care so my husband wouldn't have to work in that heat. sigh)

As a stay-at-home mom, my work never ends, but I have the advantage of being in charge of much of my day, whereas my husband doesn't. I consider that a huge benefit for me. Counting his commute, the company owns him almost ten hours a day. And then he comes home, spends time with his kids (as should be), frequently does the carpool thing (while I'm tending to other kids), and finds time for me. I admit it. I'm needy that way. haha

I know I'm lucky. I've lived next to women who did all the housework and yardwork, while their husbands sat on their butts, drank beer, and ate peanuts.

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. I'd rather spend that time reading trashy novels

To hell with the house.

[seabeyond]

11. bha hahhaha. see, lol, me too. hence cant jump on these threads and say ya....

i have to duck head and feel shame. lol lol.

[goddess40]

12. No shit

Hubby's idea of doing laundry is throwing some stuff in the washer forgetting that it needs to go in the dryer and be put away.

[Triana]

14. Last time I saw a guy do the laundry...

...he STUFFED the machine with clothes - ALL of them. He had about 4 loads in there at once.

Had I not caught him, he'd have turned it on that way. Probably would have destroyed the machine - and the clothes.

[Warpy]

27. I always ended an affair when these words passed a guy's lips

"If you're doing laundry, how about throwing a few things of mine in, too?"

It was the kiss of death, a signal that he felt entitled to my services as maid, cook and laundress.

It never, ever went the other way, his asking if I needed to throw anything in with his laundry.

Once he said that, it was OVER. I was outta there.

[gaspee]

15. When most women didn't work

The division of labor was equitable. Now that a majority of women also work outside the home, it's completely unbalanced. And people wonder why these days so many young women aren't in a hurry to marry.

[WildClarySage]

18. When exactly was that?

The myth of the housewife as majority of women's role is simply that- a myth. Only middle class white Victorian-era and rural American women were for the most part stay-homers. Throughout history we have been seamstresses, miners, oil refinery and other industrial/manufacturing operators, craftswomen, educators, laborers, servants, waitresses, midwives and nurses, sex workers, retail clerks, farm workers, etc. It wasn't until the Victorian-era that the ideal view of woman as a delicate, unemployed flowery sort became popular.

[fed_up_mother]

40. But most women in this country "labored" at home

The "housewife" is not a myth. We were an agrarian society - for the most part - and women worked at home, and they worked damn hard, too. Inside and outside. Unless they were very poor, women mostly worked in the home, while the poor also worked in other people's homes. A minority of women had their own seamstress shops', worked as midwives, etc. And they worked in the family butcher shop, baker shop, candlestick shop. :)

[knitter4democracy]

19. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and it's not equitable.

Throw in my health problems, and even Hubby admits that I do the majority of the work total.

[Warpy]

32. ..or why so many of us old gals fled screaming into the night

got divorced, and refused to entertain the idea of a shackup, much less another marriage, ever again.

[Triana]

33. There ya go..

...I'll stick with cats, thankyouverymuch.

Yea. I'm an old lady with cats. And that's just fine with me considering the alternatives.

[The Daring 734]

16. Not I

I must be in the minority... I'm married and my husband does all the housework!

[Triana]

21. Cool. Better hang on to that one! (n/t)

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[maryf]

28. Reverse

Perhaps the article should have said the person who works more hours outside the home produces more work for the household (I work twice the hours my husband does), but in my case I doubt it would matter, my husband is a much better housekeeper than I am. He also cares more about having a really clean house so it may be self defense,;) but he makes my coffee for me too...

Actually, IMO this is a silly article that's designed to keep folks busy discussing inconsequential stuff, when we should be discussing all the hours people have to work outside their house in order to keep it, or maybe discussing those folks who are denied the right to even have a roof over their heads...

[Nikki Stone1]

34. Not always.

My friend who is a lawyer works way more hours than her school teacher husband, but the only person who cleans bathrooms and straightens is her. Her sons and husband don't do any cleaning or straightening. I am sure there are lots of homes like this too.

[fed_up_mother]

39. If her sons aren't helping, she's not training them well

No boys in this house get treated like the women are slaves.

If a boy can't set the table, he can't eat.

Simple, really.

[LucyParsons]

36. I'm a single young woman and I do about 2

If I lived with someone, I'd still be doing about two. Or else.

[fed_up_mother]

37. Thankfully, my husband is not one of those husbands

God bless his soul. :)

[Donald Ian Rankin]

42. On average, how many hours of paid labour do married and unmarried women do?

In households where one person has a paid job and supports the other, the former will obviously usually do less housework than the latter.

The number of households where the husband has a paid job and the wife doesn't massively outnumber the reverse.

So of course married women are, on average, going to do more housework than single ones.

Does anyone know what happens if you break it down into "married women with jobs with husbands with jobs", "married women with jobs with husbands without jobs", "married women without jobs with husbands with jobs" and "married women without jobs with husbands without jobs", possibly also taking into account "full-time" vs "part-time"?

That would be much more revealing.

[DangerDave921]

46. Agreed

I work and my wife stays home with the kids. So of course she's going to do more housework; that's called division of labor. It's not sexist or demeaning. It's the reality of a marriage.

[DangerDave921]

43. I don't get it

Husbands create more housework? Or is it maybe just that married women care more about keeping the house clean than do single women? If it's the latter, then it's not the husband creating the extra work. It's the woman wanting to keep it clean. Just like I do more yardwork now that I'm married with kids than I did when I was single. My wife doesn't create more yardwork, but I have to do it more.

The only housework I create is some clothes to wash (she's doing laundry anyway) and some dishes. But I tend to be the one to clean the kitchen so that's hardly anything at all.

My wife is a stay at home mom, and she has it made. She's still asleep when I get up to go to work. She spends the day with the kids in the summer going to the pool and reading her books. She goes out to lunch with her friends. She has time to run and bike. All while I'm working 10-11 hours a day to pay for it all.

[Control-Z]

44. ...

:rofl:

[DangerDave921]

45. ??

Not sure what you're saying.