At the end of the holidays, the great fatigue of women

Unequal distribution of household chores within the couple, unfortunately, does not give rest during the summer holidays. This is the bitter observation on Tuesday, August 29, by the Ifop polling institute and the website Bons Plans Voyage New York. This 2004 survey of French citizens (1) highlights the worrisome physical and psychological fatigue of women returning from vacation, more so than their husbands. Overall, a majority of them (70% of respondents) say they are more “tired” than men (57%), but also more stressed (53% vs. 39%).

In the video, I am the load, a short film by Margot Heller

Mission “luggage” and “rinsing” of jerseys.

Unsurprisingly, this exhausted state is linked to the housework overload women face during the holidays. While tending the barbecue and driving remain the prerogatives of these gentlemen for 51% and 64% of them, representatives of the fairer sex most often have to take care, with or without children, of day-to-day management. stay For example, washing clothes is at the top of household chores (69% vs. 11% of men), as well as preparing the main meal (48% vs. 28% of men).

This mental burden increases even more among couples who go on vacation with children, especially if the latter are at home. Indeed, in this type of configuration, women are largely responsible for the “load” mission (71%, vs. 12% of fathers), laundry (72%, vs. 13%), preparing the party (53%, vs. 17%) or educational monitoring of children (46% against 13%). And this uneven distribution of tasks is even greater among women who come from modest backgrounds or who are already burdened with housework during the year, the study notes.

Back to school an additional source of stress

While managing the “during,” women also find themselves managing the “after,” that is, the vagaries of the beginning of the school year, which inevitably increases their level of burnout. The prospect of September is a source of far greater concern for women (60%) than for men (47%).

And for good reason, they have to redouble their efforts to take care of the tasks of returning to everyday life: managing the return suitcase (by 65% ​​of women), cleaning the linen at home. (performed by 74% of women), but also the purchase of school supplies (performed by 64% of women). Added to this is the financial stress of the end of the holidays. more than a fourth of French people (28%) ended their vacation with less than €100 in their bank account, and 9% of them even say they ended up on an open vacation. .

The climax of this situation. some spouses are acutely aware of these disparities. Among separated couples with children, men are twice as likely (56%) as women (28%) to admit that they took more time off over the summer than their partner. “This backward devolution of holiday organizing to women is based on an undeniably conservative vision of their free time and a very strong social imperative; Director of Gender and Sexuality at Ifop. “In this sense, understanding vacations through a gender prism makes it possible to show that summer vacation does not question unequal marriage and family models or even deepen them.”

(1) Ifop study for Bons Plans Voyage New York, conducted from August 18 to 21, 2023 via a self-administered online questionnaire, with a sample of 2,004 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over, including: 1364 people in pairs.