"Due to COVID-19, Work Doubled: Women Express Fatigue from Childcare and Housework"

'COVID-19' Day 51... Women Express Difficulties Due to Increased Childcare and Housework
1 in 3 Office Workers "Currently Working from Home or Considering It"
Nationwide Kindergartens, Elementary, Middle, and High Schools Postpone Opening to the 23rd
Experts "Need to Improve Social Awareness of Women's Care Work"

On the afternoon of the 5th, children and parents who completed emergency childcare are leaving a daycare center in Sejong City. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "It's so exhausting to prepare meals for my husband and son all day and do housework."

Ms. A, a housewife in her 50s living in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, recently said this as her family has been refraining from going out due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Ms. A said, "My college-aged son’s semester has been postponed, and my husband is working from home, so everyone is stuck at home. Housework just keeps piling up when there are people at home, doesn’t it?" She added, "When everyone was out, I had some time to rest alone around lunchtime, but now I work nonstop from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep."

As COVID-19 continues to spread domestically, entering its 51st day of a large-scale infection outbreak, women are voicing difficulties caused by increased housework and childcare. This is because they have had to take on childcare responsibilities at home that were previously shared with public education due to the nationwide postponement of kindergarten and elementary, middle, and high school openings.

Some working women who have started telecommuting are also complaining about being overwhelmed by juggling housework and work all day long.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 10th, 131 new confirmed cases were reported from midnight on the 9th to midnight on the 10th. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 7,513.

As health authorities urge thorough personal hygiene, refraining from going out, and social distancing to prevent infection, some companies have started telecommuting. A survey conducted by the workplace community app Blind from the 25th to the 27th of last month targeting 2,427 workers showed that 29% of respondents said "some or all employees are telecommuting or actively considering telecommuting."

Kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide initially postponed the start of the semester by one week but decided to extend the delay by two more weeks as community infections spread.

On the 2nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye announced at the Government Seoul Office the "Academic Operation and Support Measures in the Education Sector in Response to COVID-19," stating, "In the current situation where confirmed cases are continuously increasing, it is important to minimize students’ external contact and movement to prevent infection and proactively block transmission within families and communities."

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), citizens wearing masks on their way to work are seen exiting Yeouido National Assembly Station in Seoul on the morning of the 25th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

Given this situation, women are expressing fatigue due to increased childcare and housework hours. Online communities such as local mom cafes have posts complaining, "Since my husband and kids are home, I end up doing more housework than usual," "It’s stressful preparing three meals a day for my husband while working from home," "Am I a housekeeper or a mom?" and "I’ve been hit with a housework bomb."

Office worker B recently posted on a local mom cafe, saying, "It’s so stressful trying to juggle work and housework at the same time," and added, "I’d rather go to the office."

He said, "Even though I’m telecommuting, I work the same eight hours as at the office, sitting in front of the computer all day. Meanwhile, I have to prepare meals for my husband, do the dishes, and clean, and I wonder, ‘What am I even doing?’"

Foreign media also pointed out, "While the whole world is facing the crisis caused by COVID-19, Asian women are suffering relatively more." On the 8th, the British BBC mentioned cases of women who have to do housework and childcare while telecommuting, stating, "With daycare centers and schools closed, working women’s childcare difficulties are increasing. Gender inequality is worsening."

Experts suggest that housework based on gender division of labor should be recognized as an issue that all family members need to share together.

Kim Young-ran, a research fellow at the Korean Women’s Development Institute, pointed out in last year’s research report titled "Improvement Measures for Gender Inequality in the Measurement and Behavioral Evaluation Standards of Housework Time," that "Despite objective inequality, some people believe that housework is fairly shared within their own families," adding, "Although the perception of fairness may be subjective, it accepts the gender division of labor perspective, which is the fundamental cause of gender-unequal housework performance, resulting in the entrenchment of gender inequality in housework."

Kim advised, "At the family level, it is necessary to strengthen individual members’ sense of agency regarding essential housework to maintain family life, as well as to enhance negotiation power among family members regarding role performance. At the socio-cultural level, efforts to raise the value and evaluation of housework are also necessary."