A new study led by Shira Offer, professor of sociology and anthropology at Bar-Ilan University (Israel) confirms the complexity for working women to manage their family life without stress. While the majority of studies have analyzed the inequality in the distribution of household chores, that of Shira Offer emphasizes the mental aspect of managing family life, and the stress it generates.
The study focused on a subgroup of 402 mothers and 291 fathers who participated in the American “500 Family Study” which sought to understand how middle-class families reconcile family life and work. Most of the parents in this study have a good level of education and income.
Women are often held responsible for family matters. “I guess because mothers usually take primary responsibility for childcare and family life, they are more inclined to think about the more constraining aspects of family organization. Looking for a child at daycare, organizing appointments, providing treatment for a sick child, these situations generate stress and worry Adds Shira Offer.
“We know that mothers are the ones who usually adjust their work schedules to meet the needs of the family. They come home earlier in the evening, they stay home when the children are sick “. This situation puts stress on women who suffer from not devoting themselves enough to their work, who think that they always have to make up for lost time. This management of family-work schedules therefore also generates concerns among mothers who also cannot detach themselves from their work once they get home. Active fathers who have been able to devote themselves entirely to their work during the day arrive more serene and immerse themselves more easily in family life.
Fathers must be encouraged to be more active in the domestic sphere. “This encouragement should take place at a state and organizational level by making it possible for them, for example, to leave work earlier, start it later, take time off from work, and take breaks during the day to manage. family matters», Explains the author of the study. “I think if fathers could do this without being seen as less engaged workers, they would take more responsibility at home, which would lead to greater gender equality“.
