Non-standard employment and fathers' time in household labour

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which non-standard employment conditions of fathers and their partners are associated with the time fathers spend in household labour caring for children and doing housework. The data come from a national telephone survey conducted in 2010 with a unique purposive sample of 300 fathers who contributed at least 30 per cent to the total time spent in household labour. We find that fathers who worked irregular hours, night shifts or took work home on a regular basis spent more time doing housework tasks than fathers without these employment conditions. Further, fathers' whose partners worked weekends, nights or travelled for work did more housework and childcare than fathers' with partners without these work schedules. We conclude that non-standard employment may provide an opportunity for greater shared household labour arrangements. © eContent Management Pty Ltd.