Division of Labor
May 5, 2008 by Bald Man
Filed under Relationships
Economic Woman has a post out on a study that shows how the division of housework changes post-wedding day. Women, it turns out, do seven hours of housework more per week after they marry than they did before. Men, on the other hand, do one hour less after they marry than they did before. Very interesting…
A couple of thoughts here. First, it seems the old definitions of “man’s work” and “woman’s work” still hold true to a large degree. While our culture is changing, the male breadwinner and female homemaker are still the image by which we define normal. When you combine this expectation with the fact that several things were excluded from the definition of housework, things like yard work and home repairs that are traditionally identified as “man’s work,” then I can understand at least some of the shift. But a net swing of eight hours per week needs further explanation, I think.
Second thought: I wonder if the additional labor – that not explained by a simple shift from one person to the other – comes from a higher expectation regarding how a married home should. Certain things are permissible when you are single, but when you are married they just don’t fly. This higher standard may find it’s source in either the husband or the wife, but in either case it seems clear than the labor necessary to pursue that standard is picked up by the wife.
Let me ask you: How does house work get divided in your marriage?
In our home, we aren’t officially married YET – that’s coming on October, we try to divide up all the chores equally. Try is the key word. There will be days when he does the dishes two days in a row and there will be days, like now, when I’ve done them all week.
My main thing for him is trash and vacuuming. I’ve always cleaned the bathroom, at this apartment, and we both share laundry.
I will say that he goes grocery shopping a lot more then I do. And there are times when the apartment is a mess and we don’t clean it because we’d rather spend time together, he works nights I work days. We both work 40 hours a week and are planning a wedding and closing on a house in two weeks.
I say we both do a fair share of things around the apartment, even though I nag and complain that I do more, and hopefully we will keep up with it better once we move into our new home.