The Change of the Balance of Time Use between Husband and Wife Affected by the Shorter Working Time

1.我研究了每周工作和每周休假对夫妻时间使用的影响。我使用的数据是日本统计局管理和协调厅进行的1991年时间使用和休闲活动调查。结果如下：(1)每周工作时间较长的丈夫在睡眠和自由时间上花费较少。然而，丈夫花在家务上的时间几乎与工作周无关。(2)实行五天工作制的丈夫每周的工作时间比实行六天工作制的丈夫每周的工作时间短。然而，在实行五天工作制的情况下，丈夫在工作日的工作时间更长。我进行了最初的时间预算调查调查对象是同一家庭的丈夫和妻子。结果如下：在丈夫休息日，不仅自由时间增加，而且用于做家务的时间也增加了。丈夫不在家时，妻子花在家务上的钱就少了。然而，下降的程度并没有那么大。(2)家庭主妇和已婚职场女性在丈夫休假时的休假时间分配不同。家庭主妇和已婚有工作的女性休假的意义是不同的。我得出的结论是，较短的工作时间对丈夫和妻子的日常生活产生了良好的影响，但家庭成员之间以及工作日和休息日之间的时间使用平衡存在一些问题。

1.I examined the effects of the work week and the weekly day off on the time use of husband and wife. I used the data of 1991 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities conducted by Statistics Bureau Management and Coordination Agency Japan. The results are as follows.(1)Husbands with longer work week spend less on sleep and free time. Time devoted to the housework by husbands, however, is hardly related to the work week.(2)The work week of husbands on a five-day week is shorter than those on a six-day week. However, the working time of weekdays is longer among husbands on a five-day week.2.I conducted the original time budget survey whose population was husbands and wives of the same households. The results are as follows.(1)Not only free time but the time devoted to housework increase on the day off of husbands. Wives spend less on housework when their husbands are off. However, the degree of decrease is not so large.(2)Time allocations of housewives and married employed females on the day off are different when husbands of both are off. The meaning of the day off is different among housewives and married employed females3.I reach the conclusion that the shorter working time has given good effects on the everyday life of husbands and wives and that some problems of the time use balance among family members and between workday and day off.