(Un)Sustainability of the Time Devoted to Selected Housework—Evidence from Slovakia

Miroslava Knapková,Mariana Považanová

doi:10.3390/su13042069

Abstract

Domestic appliances play a vital role in modern households. Appliances help simplify domestic work, but individuals become dependent on them. The present paper aims to contribute to the long-standing dilemma among scholars whether domestic appliances help to shorten the time devoted to household chores or not. The paper focuses on the utilization of various domestic appliances in Slovak households and on the influence of their utilization on the time of men and women in partner households and in the single-person households devoted to routine unpaid work activities. The results of the paper are based on the data from original field research conducted in Slovakia in 2015. A total of 1179 partner households, 182 single-man households and 226 single-woman households were included in the analysis. The jamovi version 1.2 statistical program was used to verify the hypothesis by chi-squared goodness of fit test and nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test. In partner households and in single-man households, usage of automatic washing machines significantly influences time devoted to preparation and maintenance of the clothes. In single-woman households, usage of dishwasher significantly influences time devoted to food preparation. In partner households, men devote less time to routine unpaid work activities than women, regardless of usage or non-usage of domestic appliances.

Highlights

According to the standard economic theory, households are one of the economic agents entering the process of the market mechanism, both on the supply side and on the demand side [1,2,3]
We consider the number of household members significant for considering the extent of routine unpaid work performed by man and woman partners in partner households
The extent of the routine unpaid work and the utilization of domestic appliances is influenced by the number of household members [84,91]

Summary

Introduction

According to the standard economic theory, households are one of the economic agents entering the process of the market mechanism, both on the supply side and on the demand side [1,2,3]. The specific position of households on the supply side stems from the fact that households offer their work (labor) on the labor market [4,5]. In the economic analysis of the behavior of households and individuals in the market, the approach of rational behavior of economic agents prevails [11,12,13]. This approach is based on a cost-benefit comparison or the choice of an option that is associated with a higher profit than the effort expended or the cost of making that profit

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Conclusion