Unemployment and Household Division of Labor

This study addresses two main questions: (a) What is the relationship between unemployment of men and women and the division of labor in their households? (b) How is the psychological well-being of unemployed individuals related to the division of labor in their families? The influence of commitment to work on these relationships is also examined. The study is based on a survey among 115 men and 170 women, and the analysis includes cross-sectional comparisons of employed and unemployed individuals as well as longitudinal comparisons over a period of 6 months. The findings support previous studies showing that the domestic division of labor is relatively stable and unaffected by structural conditions. Changes in the employment status of men and women had only limited effects on household division of labor. The results cast doubt on claims, derived from the literature on unemployment, that increased involvement in family tasks may have a negative effect on the psychological well-being of unemployed men and a positive effect on the psychological well-being of unemployed women.