Discover How Australians Allocate Their Time: Insights into Daily Routines and Lifestyle Trends

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Women spend more than an extra hour a day on unpaid work compared with men and are more likely to feel rushed or pressed for time, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Released on Wednesday, the ABS’ 2024 Time Use Survey provides fresh insight into how Australians divide their day.

It reveals some interesting gender disparities on rest and chores.

On average, Australian respondents spent 10 hours and 43 minutes on personal care, including sleeping, eating, health and hygiene.

Eight hours and 20 minutes were spent on employment and education, while 4 hours and 25 minutes were devoted to unpaid domestic activities, such as caring for children.

When it comes to leisure and relaxing, Australians spent 5 hours and 34 minutes on free time activities, such as socialising, exercising, watching TV and reading.

The study drew insights from 10,673 individuals residing in 6,939 households, resulting in a comprehensive record of 19,319 diary days detailing various activities.

A bar graph titled Average daily time by activity

Source: SBS News / Australian Bureau of Statistics

A bar graph is titled “Average daily time by activity.”

The survey found 90 per cent of females and 81 per cent of males participated in unpaid work each day.

Women reported 4 hours and 53 minutes of unpaid work per day — around an hour more than men, who recorded 3 hours and 52 minutes.

Parents of children aged under 15 spent significantly longer on unpaid work than people in other living situations.

Data collection occurred during two distinct periods: from July 22 to September 3, 2024, and from September 16 to October 29, 2024.

Single parents reported an average of 7 hours and four minutes, while couples recorded an average of 6 hours and 16 minutes, both surpassing the overall average of 4 hours and 25 minutes.

Domestic activities include unpaid work to maintain and manage a household, excluding caring responsibilities.

More females (86 per cent) reported doing domestic activities than males (75 per cent) each day.

The most common activities were cooking (69.1 per cent of women compared with 53.8 per cent of men), housework (56.9 per cent of women and 34.8 per cent of men) and shopping (25.8 per cent of women and 18.3 per cent of men).

Looking after children

Looking after children under 15 includes activities such as personal care, playing with children or helping with homework. Supervisory care is measured separately.

Female parents (88 per cent) were more likely to report caring for children than male parents (72 per cent).

On average, female parents spent 4 hours and 38 minutes a day caring for children — more than an hour longer than male parents, who averaged 3 hours and 29 minutes.

Meanwhile, supervisory care refers to time spent in the same location as a child under 15 while being available to provide care if needed, alongside another main activity.

Almost one quarter of people (23 per cent) reported providing supervisory care while doing another activity, for an average of 7 hours and eight minutes a day. Females (25 per cent) were more likely to provide supervisory care than males (21 per cent).

Nearly one quarter (22 per cent) reported supervising a child while also doing unpaid work, for an average of 2 hours and 49 minutes.

Only nine per cent of people reported supervising a child while doing paid work, averaging 5 hours and 41 minutes a day. Females (10 per cent) were more likely to do so than males (8 per cent).

Employment activities

Employment activities include paid work and travel to and from work.

More males participated in employment activities than females (48 per cent compared with 38 per cent).

Men who undertook employment activities spent almost an hour longer per day than women, averaging 8 hours and 55 minutes compared with 7 hours and 58 minutes.

Working from home

On workdays, people who worked from home spent less time on paid work.

Those who worked from home averaged 7 hours and eight minutes of paid work, compared with 8 hours and 18 minutes for those who did not.

People who worked from home also spent about an hour longer on unpaid work (3 hours and 24 minutes) than those who did not (2 hours and 26 minutes).

On days worked from home, women spent more time on unpaid work than men — 3 hours and 48 minutes compared with 3 hours and one minute.

People who worked from home on their diary day spent around an hour longer doing unpaid work activities during their day (3 hours 24 minutes) than people who did not work from home (2 hours 26 minutes).

Working from home was also associated with more free time.

Women who worked from home spent 3 hours and 35 minutes on free time activities, compared with 3 hours and 10 minutes for those who did not.

Men who worked from home spent 4 hours on free time, compared with 4 hours and 24 minutes for those who did not.

Free time

Free time activities include pursuits undertaken for enjoyment or personal fulfilment, such as watching television, exercising or socialising.

Most people (91 per cent) participated in free time activities, with men averaging 5 hours and 48 minutes and women 5 hours and 21 minutes.

Parents spent significantly less time on free time activities (3 hours and 38 minutes) than people without children (6 hours and five minutes).

Watching television or streaming was the most common activity, with 62 per cent of people spending an average of 2 hours and 55 minutes a day.

Talking or socialising in person averaged 2 hours and 19 minutes. Around 24 per cent of men reported socialising in person for an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes, while 30 per cent of women did so for a slightly shorter average of 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Social media use, web browsing and checking emails were also common, with one quarter of respondents spending an average of one hour and 23 minutes a day on these activities.

Time stress

One third of respondents (33 per cent) said they always or often felt rushed or pressed for time, with higher rates among females (36 per cent) than males (30 per cent).

Balancing work and family was the most commonly cited reason, reported by 42 per cent of those who felt time-stressed.

Source: SBS News / Australian Bureau of Statistics

Almost half of women aged 35 to 44 (49 per cent) said they always or often felt rushed or pressed for time.

People in couple families with children under 15 (51 per cent) were significantly more likely to feel rushed than couples without children (26 per cent).