August 12, 2007 10:07 AM

Underworking and wanting a "wife"
Posted by Diane Danielsonat 10:07 AM

Today's Sunday Globe had some interesting stories:

"The Underworked American" looks at a national survey that goes against the grain and says we're working less than before.  It points out that we do less housework, and therefore have more free time.  The article does point out some of the study's inherent flaws.  Most importantly, that it's difficult to interpret data that covers all socioeconomic groups.  For example, if you break it down, men and women who have college degrees have NOT seen an increase in leisure time; the increase is more apparant the lower you go on the economic scale.   (and it's likely that this is due to unemployment not an active choice to watch more TV --- yes, that is the number one way we fill our leisure time).

In fact, the study does not account for the fact that there was in increase in the number of men and women working more than 50 hours per week (individually) and couples who work more than 100 hours weekly.  Also, maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of the increase of "commuting" time and whether they classified that as work or leisure.  (I'd lobby for the former.)  With affordable housing being further and further from urban areas, my guess is that we spend a lot more time just trying to get to and from work. (Although this might be offset by those of us who work from home - hence the problem with far-reaching surveys.)

Click here to read the whole story.

Then there's the short piece in the business section about how working women really want a "wife."   This article brings up the old conundrum that being married helps a man's career but can hinder a woman's.  While this is nothing new, I thought the quote by Kim Ganedy, president of NOW, was quite telling:  "The real challenge is, companies expect you to perform as if someone is at home taking care of everything for you." 

Setting aside the unique issues married working mothers face (like the 2003 study that found the 6:00 dinner crises was a major source of stress that even their single working mom colleagues didn't face), this is an issue for single people too.  We can't wait for the plumber and be at a client site at the same time. And when many of us don't live near our family, just how often can we impose on friends to help us drop our car off at the shop.  (Not to mention, we don't have a second car to use in the meantime.)

Click here to read the whole story.

My takeaway from these articles:  In our diverse population, it's too hard to lump everyone together under a one size fits all study or survey.  So if the survey doesn't fit ... then don't wear it!