In Greek Households the Man Earns, the Woman Does Housework

by Philip Chrysopoulos – December 25, 2014

The Greek family remains very traditional as the man goes to work and puts bread on the table while the woman stays at home and tends to the household, according to a new report by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

The “Time Use Survey” conducted by ELSTAT took one year to complete. Its purpose was to see how people in Greece distribute their time in various activities. Regarding household work, men aged 20-74 spend an average of 1 hour and 31 minutes doing household chores while women of the same age spend 4 hours and 36 minutes.

According to the survey, 95.3% of women spend at least 10 minutes a day on housework, while only 74% of men do the same. The household activity men like the most is cooking (38.3%) but only 2.4% are involved in laundry, ironing or mending clothes.

Leisure Time

Men spend 6 hours and 24 minutes per day in sports, outdoor activities, fine arts, crafts, hobbies and information technology while women spend 5 hours and 10 minutes in such activities. Overall, 47.2% of men have a hobby or use computers while only 29.9% of women do the same; 28.9% of men do sports or outdoor activities while for women that is 20%. Also, 92.8% of the total population watches television, reads newspapers and magazines and listens to the radio for an average of 2 hours and 56 minutes per day.

Greek men and women sleep an average of 8 hours and 25 minutes per day, including naps and staying in bed. On personal hygiene, women dedicate six minutes per day more than men.

People in rural areas – mostly women – dedicate an average of 12 minutes a day on religious activities while residents of urban communities dedicate only 5.

Information and Communication Technologies

Men spend 43 minutes per day on information and communication technologies. Women, on the other hand, spend 25 minutes. However, people in Greece appear to be very social as 83.7% of women and 82.1% of men spend at least 10 minutes a day to visit friends and relatives or talk to them on the telephone. Over 82% of the total population has an active social life combined with other activities outside the home, spending an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes.

Eating and Transportation Time

The average Greek spends 2 hours and 16 minutes daily on the table. Men spend 24 minutes a day on some means of transportation to go to various leisure activities while women spend exactly half of that. Commuting time in urban areas is 12 minutes on average and 6 minutes in rural areas. Transportation is 1 hour and 2 minutes on average for the total population.

Time at Home and Work

The majority of the population spends the biggest part of the day at home (18 hours and 17 minutes on average, including sleep). The older the person, the more time they spend at home. In ages over 65, average time spent at home is 20 hours and 31 minutes. Also, women spend more time at home than men (19 hours and 24 minutes compared to 17 hours and 1 minute).

Greek men spend more time at work than women; they work an average of 2 hours and 31 minutes per day, especially in the 35-44 age group where the average is 4 hours and 21 minutes.

In Greek Households the Man Earns, the Woman Does Housework | GreekReporter.com