Coming Back to Life: Change in Time Use and Subjective Well-being from 2020 to 2025

• In Event: Family Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: Time Use

Abstract

We examine repeated cross-sectional and panel data to explore how time-use and subjective wellbeing changed between the pandemic, in 2020/2021 to 2025/2026. The panel data come from time diary data at Waves 1 and 3 of the National Couples’ Health and Time Study. The repeated cross-sectional data come from the American Time Use Survey 2020/2021 to 2024 (to be updated to 2025 when released). Initial evidence suggests that paid work decreased, routine housework increased in the repeated cross-sectional data (ATUS) or decreased in the longitudinal data (NCHAT). Leisure decreased in the repeated cross-sectional data (ATUS) and increased in the longitudinal (NCHAT). Childcare decreased in both ATUS and NCHAT. Preliminary evidence from NCHAT paired t-tests suggested that routine housework fell by 17 minutes, paid work decreased by 44 minutes, driving increased by 31 minutes, watching TV decreased by 21 minutes, socializing increased by 14 minutes, relaxing and thinking increased by 9 minutes and exercising increased by 6 minutes. Preliminary difference-in-difference results by gender suggested that men decreased their routine housework by 8 minutes while women decreased by 24 minutes and men increased their time in routine childcare by 2 minutes, but women decreased it by 9 minutes. A similar pattern was observed for child engagement with women decreasing by 7 minutes and men increasing by 3 with t of 1.65. Men decreased their leisure by 14 minutes and women increased by 26 minutes. We also ran some preliminary paired t-tests on emotions felt across the day. We found that average stress decreased and average happiness was largely unchanged. By gender, we found that men stayed about the same for average stress and happiness, but women declined significantly in stress and increased significantly in happiness. Overall, our preliminary evidence suggests that women may have benefitted from the end of the pandemic.

Authors

• Claire M. Kamp Dush, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Ann Meier, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Hyunjae Kwon, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Wendy Diane Manning, Bowling Green State University

• Teresa Toguchi Swartz, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities