Study title

The year 2002 survey concentrated on household work strategies and how to combine work and family life. Respondents were asked whether family responsibilities had ever got in the way of their career prospects and had they ever changed their working hours or working arrangements to look after a relative. Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to gender roles at work and at home and how to combine work and family life. Statements charted respondents' opinions on working mothers, housework sharing, marriage, divorce, maternity leave and childcare. Respondents living with a spouse or a partner were asked about the division of domestic responsibilities: who takes care of household money matters, who does the laundry, makes small repairs, does everyday shopping, household cleaning and cooking. Further questions asked how many hours respondents and their spouses/partners spend on household work, whether housework was equally shared and how often they disagree about the sharing of the work. Some questions asked who makes decisions about how to bring up children or how to spend the weekend. All respondents were asked whether their occupational or family life was stressful and whether they had recently felt tired because of family responsibilities or work. Happiness in general and satisfaction with work and family life were studied. Respondents with children were asked whether they and their spouse/partner had had a paid job before they had children, when children were at school and after the children left home. The survey also queried whether respondents' mothers had had a paid job before the respondents were 14 years old. Views on whether women should work outside the home when a couple does not have children were probed. Background variables included respondents' sex, year of birth, marital status, education, occupation, status in employment, trade union membership, political attitudes, membership in a church or a...