How the job of a homemaker could be the happiest job you could ever have if you have to work double the hours? At least most people think so.
It turns out there is a few facts to highlight.
If a homemaker is unable to carry out normal tasks, on average it would take less than six days for her home to become unlivable because of the mess and disruption.
Most households would only be able to afford to pay for help for a few days if the homemaker is unable to undertake usual duties because of accident or illness.
New research from LV=’s Home Truths Index reveals housewives and househusbands are the happiest in their careers despite working more than 60 hours in a five day week.
The study found only one in seven (13%) homemakers are dissatisfied in their role – less than half the number of those working as civil servants, social care workers and retail workers.
The most significant factors contributing to homemakers’ high satisfaction levels are being able to spend time with their children, low stress levels and flexible working hours.
However, the hours are much longer than others expect. On average people think homemakers work just 31 hours a week, but they actually work 66 hours a week on average, with tasks like childcare, cooking and cleaning taking up the majority of their time. The work of a homemaker is highly valued, making them crucial to the household.
The importance of homemakers is underlined by the fact that if they were unable to do their normal household tasks because of an accident or illness, it would take less than six days (5.9) for their homes to fall into disarray. A fifth (19%) of homes with a housewife or househusband would have to pay for help like a cleaner or child minder and half (51%) would have to dip into their savings to do so, while one in ten (10%) would have to rely on credit cards.
LV= surveyed 3,136 UK adults working in 26 industries and found that homemakers were the least likely to dissatisfied in their role.
According to the research, 30% of civil servants are dissatisfied with their jobs, while 29% of people working in both social care and retail said they were dissatisfied.
For homemakers, 30% said one of the three most satisfying factors of their role was being able to spend time with their children, 23% said low stress levels, while 18% said the flexible working hours.
Current homemakers (non-retired) said they work 13.18 hours per day, which means they work 65.9 hours in a 5-day working week.
