Women working longer hours, sleeping less, as they juggle commitments
Working women put in longer hours on the job last year, spent more time caring for their children and did more work around the house. They also spent less time relaxing or socializing — and less time sleeping, according to a new survey.
The results from the annual American Time Use Survey released last week by the Labor Department hint at the challenges that working women face when juggling life’s various obligations, the Wall Street Journal reported. Despite their increasing workplace commitments, they remain the primary caregivers and organizers of their households.
Here are a few key points from the survey:
- Women worked about seven hours and 20 minutes during the average workday last year, the most time spent on the job since the Labor Department first conducted the survey in 2003. Men spent slightly less than eight hours a day on the job. This is the smallest gap on record.
- Last year, working women spent about 30 minutes more per day than men on household chores such as cleaning and cooking.
- Working women spent on average two hours per day caring for a child in 2018, an increase of roughly 15 minutes from 2017. Employed men with children spent less than an hour and a half on child care on an average day, down from 2017.
- Employed women spent about 3 3/4 hours per day relaxing or exercising, less than in previous years. Mothers, whether employed or not, spent less time engaged in leisure activities: about three hours and 30 minutes per day on average, down roughly 15 minutes from 2003. Employed men spent roughly four hours and 40 minutes a day on leisure activities, slightly more than in 2016 and 2017. Dads with kids in the home, regardless of employment status, got about four hours a day.
To see the full report, click here.

