The Burden of Administrative Household Labor—Measuring Temporal Workload, Mental Workload, and Satisfaction

Erik Dethier (), Gunnar Stevens and Alexander Boden
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Erik Dethier: Department of Management Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
Gunnar Stevens: Digital Consumer Studies, University of Siegen, 57068 Siegen, Germany
Alexander Boden: Department of Management Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-25

Abstract: This research paper investigates the temporal and mental workload as well as work satisfaction regarding bureaucratic, administrative household labor, with a focus on socio-demographic differences. The study utilizes a paid online survey with 617 socio-demographically distributed participants. The results show significant differences in the temporal workload of different chore categories and in the quality of work, whereby satisfaction and mental workload are examined. In addition, the influences of gender, age, and education are analyzed, revealing differences in temporal and mental workload as well as work satisfaction. Our findings confirm prevailing literature showing that women have lower work satisfaction and a higher workload. In addition, we also discovered that younger people and groups of people with higher incomes have a higher level of satisfaction and a higher workload. In our study, a perceived high mental workload does not necessarily go hand in hand with a low level of satisfaction. This study contributes to the understanding of the bureaucratic burden on adults in their households and the variety of activities to manage private life.

Keywords: cognitive labor; household management; family; gender; life admin; workload; work satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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