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The following article is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and describes the difference in time allotted to household chores between husbands and wives when both were employed and when one from the marriage was employed.

You will find from this article that employed husbands spent less time on household chores than did employed wives. You will also find that employed husbands spend even less time on household chores than a spouse who was not employed outside the home. While the latter may be somewhat obvious, the former is not.

Regardless of whether your spouse works outside the home or not, you should always help in the home. You should never feel comfortable watching TV while your wife is doing dishes or getting the children ready for bed.

You must remember, especially if you have children, your wife works every bit as hard as you and perhaps harder. When you leave work at 5:00 P.M. her day is long from over. She still has dinner to prepare. She must clean-up after dinner. She must get the children ready for bed and perhaps, fluff up your pillow on the sofa for a nap.

Helping your wife when you arrive home from work will go a long way is displaying your love and commitment to the marriage. It might also create a little more time for the two of you to be alone in the evening. If you have been complaining about your wife not giving you attention, maybe this is a good way to get that desired attention. If she is overworked or tired from her over-full day, you might find getting a little more attention in the evening an insurmountable task.

Read the article below and see if you can find your relationship in the statistics. Be certain, once you find your place, that you do not become a more undesirable statistic.

MARRIED PARENTS’ USE OF TIME, 2003-06 (U.S. Bureau of Statistics)

“Married mothers employed full time were more likely to do household activities and provide childcare on an average day than were married fathers employed full time, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. While married parents spent their time in different ways, factors such as their employment status, the age of their youngest child, and their spouse’s employment status were related to the amount of time they spent in selected activities and their likelihood of doing those activities.

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data in this news release focus on the activities of married parents who live in the same household as their spouse and children under 18. The data refer to the amount of time these parents spent doing activities on an "average day," a term that reflects the average distribution of time across all 7 days of the week. Many activities typically are not done on a daily basis, and some activities only are done by a subset of married parents. The analysis that follows uses time-use estimates that are restricted to specific population groups based on employment status, the age of youngest household child, and spouse’s employment status. For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the Technical Note.

Work Activities of Married Parents

-- Forty-three percent of married mothers and 88 percent of married fathers were employed full time. Full-time workers are those who usually work 35 hours or more per week.

-- Among full-time workers who are parents of children under 18,married mothers were less likely to work on an average day than were married fathers; this partly reflects the fact that married mothers--particularly those with young children--were more likely to be on leave from their jobs than were married fathers. Among married mothers employed full time, 65 percent of those with a child under age 6 worked on an average day compared to 71 percent of married mothers whose youngest child was age 6 to 17. About 73 percent of married fathers who were employed full time worked on an average day, regardless of the age of their youngest child.

-- Among full-time workers who are parents of children under 18, married fathers worked about 1.0 hour more per day than did married mothers--6.1 versus 5.1 hours. The estimates are averages of both workdays and non-workdays; on average, married fathers employed full time worked 42.6 hours per week, and married mothers employed full time worked 36.0 hours. The difference between these estimates partly reflects married mothers’ greater likelihood of being absent from work.

-- In households with children under 18, the amount of time fathers who were employed full time worked varied by their wives’ employment status. In households where both spouses were employed full time, fathers spent 17 minutes fewer per day working than did fathers whose spouses were not employed.

Childcare Activities of Married Parents

-- Among full-time workers who are parents of children under 18, married mothers were more likely to provide childcare to house- hold children than were married fathers. On an average day, 71 percent of these mothers and 54 percent of these fathers spent time caring for and helping household children. Mothers spent more time providing this care than did fathers--1.2 hours per day versus 0.8 hour (49 minutes) per day. The difference in the amount of time spent partly reflects mothers’ greater likelihood of providing childcare on an average day.

-- Full-time employed married mothers of children under 18 also were more likely to engage in travel related to childcare than were fathers with similar characteristics. Forty percent of these mothers and 23 percent of these fathers spent some time in travel related to caring for and helping household children on an average day.

-- Regardless of employment status, both mothers and fathers of children under 6 spent more than twice as much time providing childcare on an average day as did their counterparts whose youngest child was age 6 to 17. Both mothers and fathers were more likely to provide childcare when their children were under 6 than when their children were older.

-- In households with children under 18 where married mothers were not employed and married fathers were employed full time, mothers spent triple the amount of time providing childcare on average than did fathers--2.5 hours versus 0.8 hour (50 minutes).

Household Activities of Married Parents

-- In households with children under 18, married mothers who were employed full time were more likely to do household activities--such as housework, cooking, or lawn care--on an average day than were fathers who were employed full time (89 versus 64 percent).

-- Among married mothers of children under 18, those who were not employed spent an average of 3.6 hours per day doing household activities; this was 1.6 hours more than married mothers employed full time, and 1.0 hour more than married mothers employed part-time.

-- On an average day, married fathers who had children under 18 and were not employed spent 2.3 hours doing household activities, about 1.1 hours more than did fathers who were employed full time. In addition to spending more time doing household activities, married fathers who were not employed were more likely to do household activities on an average day than were married fathers who were employed full time--73 versus 64 percent.

-- In households with children under 18 where both spouses were employed full time, mothers spent an average of 2.1 hours per day doing household activities, while fathers spent about 1.4 hours. However, fathers in these households spent more time doing household activities than did fathers whose spouses were not employed--0.3 hour (20 minutes) more per day.

Leisure Activities of Married Parents

-- Married mothers who were not employed and had children under 18 spent 4.2 hours doing leisure activities on an average day, while married mothers who were employed full-time spent 2.9 hours. By contrast, married fathers who were not employed spent 6.3 hours doing leisure activities, and married fathers who were employed full time spent 3.7 hours.

-- In households with children under 18 where mothers were employed part-time and fathers were employed full time, mothers spent 3.4 hours doing leisure activities on an average day and fathers spent 3.6 hours.