According to a new study of 1,100 working fathers in the UK, the answer is yes. The study — Work Life Balance: Working for Fathers? — found that dads were happier when they and their wives shared equal chores, work time, and family time. (The report follows on the heels of a 2009 study in the Journal of Family Issues that found the more men help out around the house, the more sex they're probably having.) Sounds great, right? There's just one hitch…
The Guardian published the results of the 2010 study and interviewed lead researcher Dr. Caroline Gatrell, who explained, "The problem is that although families are changing, this is — largely — being completely ignored by employers."
At least in the UK, the expectation still stands that women will cut back their work hours after having children, while men will keep up the same work schedule. Equality might be increasing in the domestic sphere, but the balance hasn't yet tipped at work. Based purely on anecdotal evidence, we'd wager the same holds true here in the U.S.
What do you think? Does sharing housework improve a man's chances for happiness? Does the workplace form a barrier that we have yet to collectively break?
READ MORE
• Fathers are happier when doing more housework, says study | The Guardian
• Men Who Clean House Are Happier | Salon.com
• Study Finds Link Between House Chores and Sex | Boing Boing
• Division of Labor: Sharing Housework | Apartment Therapy
• Chore Charts and the Equitable Household | Apartment Therapy
Photo: Rob Bouldon used under Creative Commons License 2.0
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and are the mothers happier too?
My bf must be the exception that proves the rule
Anything that gives you a feeling of accomplishment can boost your self-esteem and thus make you happier. Workplaces should allow more time for men to spend time with their families, especially after children come on the scene. I think everybody will be happier if there is more even balance in family interaction.
I think that Teapotrose is right. I believe that the desire to be useful and feel helpful is seen across genders. In my house my partner and I share the work load. In fact, when I seem to be cleaning too much he complains that he feels like he isn't doing his fair share. I can't imagine living in a house where I was expected to pull 95-100% of the chores.
My husband just became self employed a few months ago, which allows him more time to help with household chores and be more involved with the kids. So we are all home together a lot and everyone is happy and less stressed. We have a little less financial security, but it's worth it. Too bad employers don't get it.
I have to say living on my own and being a male after cleaning my apt I feel much better about my living space and myself. I don't think if I got a significant other I would just sit back and let them do all the work because I do get a satisfaction from cleaning and am used to it from living alone.
Shouldn't we all agree that it makes sense to give the mother more time to recover after birthing a child than the father, since she is the one that had the baby??? I’M SORRY, BUT HELLO!?!?! This is a no brainer, in my opinion! A woman's body and hormones need to get into whack before going back into the workplace. She also needs to think about the baby's needs, which (no matter how much you love your child as a dad) lie with the mother; she acts as the vessel for a newborn's proper nourishment.
I have my doubts that the housework had much to do with it...my guess is that having more family time is what made dads happier.
I think Dads are happier after doing more chores because Moms are happier when Dads are doing more chores, unhappier when they're doing less. Dads' happiness in doing chores comes from marital harmony.
This entry cross references this study, which supports that.
http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/24/1/51.abstract
There is nothing sexier than a man with a vacuum cleaner . . . .;)
@VeniceGrl, I would agree to a certain extent. Sure, when you've just birthed a kid and are relied upon 24/7 to feed said child, you need more time. But what about when the kid is eating independently from you, and all your stitches have healed? A mom or a dad, or whatever combo of parents, can handle those parenting tasks. Why not allow the time from work or the leeway/flex time equally?
@VeniceGrl Even though a baby doesn't need its father for food, men should get bonding time too. Plus...new moms need help! Suddenly being home alone all day with a new (crying) baby is a big task!
Yeah, I agree that new mom's need some time to get back into themselves and of course newborns need mommy a little more than daddy (assuming that is the family structure), but after a little while, mommy needs mommy time and baby needs daddy time.
Btw, I printed the article out and taped it to my fridge. Just in case my husband needs a little happiness...
Probably correlates with the study that says that a man doing his fair share of the chores increases a woman's desire to have sex with said man. I'm unemployed and expected to do at least 85% of the housework. Unfortunately, that percentage doesn't really change when I do have a job. When we visit our in-laws, it becomes glaringly obvious how my husband developed his attitude about household division of labor. When I visit my parents, it become glaringly obvious why I feel like I have to put up with it.
It bugs me that when men do their share of housework, it's considered "helping out." That implies that housework is primarily the woman's responsibility, rather than the duty of every adult living in the home.
Who cares if doing housework makes men happier? They ought to do it anyway. It's their responsibility as much as their girlfriends', wives', mother's, etc.
@slowdown: Amen!
Some of the best advice I ever received: In a marriage, there is no 50/50. Both partners need to give 100%.
I agree with pp that probably the husbands are happier because their wives are happier. I think there is also a camaraderie that comes with sharing responsibility. I have also observed that men who share household duties also have more say in how the household runs.
peachypear . . . better marital percentage advice:
its not 50/50, its more like 90/10 . . .
sometimes you are the 90
and sometimes you are the 10!