Taking a peek into chore sharing in millennial households, Avtar’s latest Viewport Study has discovered a narrowing chore gap.
With changing demographics and millennials expected to represent 75% of the workforce by 2025, organizations are striving for millennial engagement and are keen on molding the next generation of millennial leaders.
A plethora of studies- both academic and business- has looked into the typical characteristics of millennials. A majority of the studies quote millennials to be tech-savvy, connected, curious multitaskers, and established that millennials want instant gratification and recognition, authenticity, and most importantly work-life balance and flexibility.
Although there were many studies on Gen Y behavior in the workplace, there are only a few that look into their behavior at home, especially in handling household chores. Therefore, Avtar delved into the chore division and dynamics at Indian homes in the latest edition of Viewport, the annual in-house research report.
One of the heartening findings of the study ‘Chore Division & Dynamics at Indian homes: An exploratory research during COVID times’ was that among the married respondents, Gen Y/Millennial couples are keener on sharing the household chores than Gen X. 83% of the Gen Y population was spending equal time (2-3 hours) in household chores along with their partners.
The stark difference in the chore division based on gender is that only 56% of Gen X, who spend 2-3 hours in household activities, reported equal sharing with their partners. The glaring difference between generations in sharing housework becomes more pronounced by the finding that 0% of the married Gen X respondents share the workload of more than 6 hours of housework with their partners.
Another result re-emphasized Gen Y’s attitudes and actions towards sharing household chores. While only 17% of the married respondents belonging to Gen X shared equal time doing housework with their partners, almost double the Gen Y (34%) shared equal time. These indicate that the married Gen Y population is more aware and understanding of the demands of household work and is ready to share the load with their partner and hold egalitarian views, as compared to Gen X.
The implications for the organizations are that the leadership holds the potential to influence attitudinal shifts in the millions they employ. Companies intentional about the DEI agenda must emphasize that inclusion begins at home. As organizations focus on nurturing a culture of male allyship, they must open forums to host open conversations on household chores and work-life conflict.
