A mail survey of 450 married U. of I. employees and their spouses, with an average age of 44, showed that attitudes about housework don't always match with behavior, or who does the work. While the roles of women outside the household have changed dramatically as more women get jobs, responsibilities in the home have changed only slightly, said Vicki Fitzsimmons, a professor of family economics. Among the chores were planning meals, shopping, preparing food, making appointments, doing the laundry, balancing the checkbook, cleaning, and caring for children. Even though women take responsibility for the chores, at least half of the men and women surveyed agreed that some should be shared equally, including shopping for food, daily care of the children, laundry, cleaning and making appointments for the family. The wives said that other tasks should be shared, such as preparing food, taking children to appointments, shopping for clothes and vacuuming, but their husbands did not agree.
Conflict can lead to high stress levels, emotional distress and even marital instability.
Instead of blaming men for not doing their fair share, couples need to analyze why they are not doing what they believe to be right in sharing housework, Fitzsimmons said. In some cases, she said, women are reluctant to give up territory to spouses or to lower their standards of cleanliness. Thus, the view of wife as homemaker continues even though many women are the primary or co-breadwinners. More than half of the men were satisfied or very satisfied, but only 37 percent of the women were satisfied. But wives were more likely to balance the checkbook than men.