Gary BurnsAssociate Editor - Business FirstEmail Working mothers – multitasking like crazy – are far more stressed than working fathers, the latest research indicates.
And somewhere in the background, mom whispers: “Tell me something that I don’t already know.”
This is the story: According to research published in the American Sociological Review, working mothers spend considerably more time multitasking at home than working dads. And the load is pressuring those moms with a loads of stress.
Those were the essential results of research carried out by scientists at Michigan State University and Bar-Ilan University in Israel, who took a close look at 368 working mothers and 241 working fathers, who all were employed outside the home.
Moms were under stress at home far more than dads, according to the study.
“The first thing (moms) had to start worrying about (after work) is getting dinner, interfacing with their kids, getting done all the housework chores,” said Barbara Schneider, a sociologist at Michigan State. For dads, not so much.
The researchers obtained their data by giving the study participants watches that beeped at random times throughout the day. Each time the watches beeped, the research subjects filled out forms indicating what they were doing, “what else” they were also doing, whether they were happy, whether they were stressed and whether they wished they were doing something else entirely.
“You could see from the data all the stresses and strains (the mothers) felt as they walked in the door (at home), and all the tasks” they felt compelled to get done, especially during the hectic early evening hours. The study results showed that working moms multitasked 10.5 hours per week more than dads, doing things like making dinner, doing laundry, helping the kids with homework and squeezing in some work from the office as well.
And now the holiday season is upon us. A number of working moms say they especially dread this time of year. Does anyone have the nerve to ask them why?
Buffalo Business First associate editor, blogger
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