Australian Women Spend The Least Time On Themselves

Pulse

oi-Staff

By Staff

Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 17:01

A study found that the Australian women spend the lest amount of time on themselves, while juggling their work, families and endless lists of jobs. The survey that involved some 4,000 women has over 90 per cent of the participant women claiming that they get less than two hours of "me time" per week.

The survey that was conducted by the Nescafe Cafe Menu, showed that around 56 per cent cribbing about not being able to make the best of their every moment, with 24 per cent saying they did not entertain themselves because it was either too expensive or too much an effort.

Dr. Natalie Skinner, a research fellow at the University of South Australia Centre for Work and Life, said that the poll echoed the findings of large-scale Australian Work and Life Index 2009, which were released last month.

The Australian Work and Life Index 2009 had reported that long hours at work and intense time pressures are invading the personal lives of Australian employees - particularly women.

"What we know from research is that it's women who are really doing what's called 'the second shift' at home, so once they finish their paid work hours for example, when they come home, they have got a second shift of domestic and care work," she said.

"And we know that the time women spend on this type of work is significant, and still higher than the time that men tend to spend," she added.

While Eleanor, an employed women with children says, "The biggest issue I am facing is the inflexibility of two systems - childcare and workplace operational requirements. On the one hand I have to organise with my childcare centre days that I can get childcare, how much I can afford and where (and if) I can get a placement when I need to go back to work. Then I have to try and negotiate this with my workplace."

And she adds, " I know of a number of women who are actively opting out of the workplace due to the issues surrounding the inflexibility -- the cost of childcare and the inflexibility of workplaces."

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