Marriage means increase in housework for women. Research shows that getting married prompts a 50 per cent increase in housework. When a woman is single, ironing, cleaning, cooking and other duties take up about ten hours a week. But after they are married, or have simply moved in with a boyfriend, they typically do 15 hours of housework every week, according to a report in the latest edition of Economic Journal. For men, the effect is opposite. Before getting married or starting to cohabit, they do an average of seven hours' housework a week. Afterwards-that drops to five hours. The research says that men are willing to take a back seat because they think women enjoy taking control of the house and all the duties. But women say they are forced to spend much more time at the kitchen sink because they are frustrated by the piles of dirty dishes left by their partners. For many couples, the arrival of children means the housework duties multiply, and many women tend to pick up the lion's share. The research, by the economist Helene Couprie, is based on a sample of more than 12,000 men and women in the British Household Panel Survey. A spokesman for the Economic Journal said it shows women tend to have more of a 'taste' for housework because they do more than men, even when single. Women who hate housework, but cannot persuade their husbands or boyfriends to do it, could be helped by one compelling argument. Scientists discovered recently that men could live longer if they did more chores. Hiding away from household duties and shirking childcare can even lead to them 'dying of boredom'. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Daily Mail)

有調查顯示，對于女性來說，結婚意味著得多做50%的家務活。 據最新一期《經濟學》期刊公布的一項調查報告顯示，女性結婚前每周花在熨衣服、打掃衛生、做飯等家務活上的時間約為10小時。而她們結婚或和男友同居之后，每周花在家務活上的時間則增加為15個小時。 而對男性來說，結果卻恰好相反。男性在結婚或同居之前，平均每周做7個小時的家務活；而在這之后，每周做家務活的時間卻減少為5個小時。調查表明，在家務活的問題上，男人總是“甘拜下風”，因為他們覺得女人樂于管家并承擔所有的家務活。 但女性則認為，面對一堆堆沒人洗的臟餐具，她們不得不在廚房的水池前忙乎半天。 對于很多夫妻來說，有了孩子之后，家務活就更多了。而很多女性則承擔起了其中的大部分。 這項由經濟學家海琳·考普里所做的調查主要基于“英國家庭專門調查”的1萬2千多名男性和女性。《經濟學》期刊的一位發言人稱，調查顯示，女性對做家務活的體會更深，因為她們比男性做得多，即便在結婚之前也是這樣。 不愛做家務活、又無法說服丈夫或男友去做的女性現在可以擺出一個非常有說服力的觀點了。 科學家近日發現，愛做家務活的男性壽命更長。不愿做家務活、又不愿帶孩子的男性可能會“死于無聊”。 （ 英語點津姍姍編輯）