Press Statement

Preasráiteas

22 June 2021

Go to release: Pulse Survey May-June 2021 - Life at Home: Snapshot of Results

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 June 2021) published a Snapshot of Results from the ‘Life at Home’ CSO Pulse Survey. This report includes insights into the division of household tasks in couples; the experiences of those living alone, lone parents and those house sharing; and the relationship between parents and adult children who live together. ‘Life at Home’ is a Frontier Publication from the CSO and is based on the first online CSO Pulse Survey, which is part of the CSO ‘Take Part’ campaign.

Head of Division – Social Collection, Fiona O’Riordan, commented: “The CSO today publishes its first outputs from the inaugural Pulse Survey. This report demonstrates the value of this type of online survey; which is short, frequent and open to the public and takes the ‘pulse’ of the country about a particular issue at a particular point in time.

These online CSO Pulse Surveys are a fresh way to gain a better understanding about how people feel about issues that affect all our lives. We want to give the public the opportunity to get involved in CSO surveys so that your story can become part of the story of Ireland. We would like to thank all those who took part in this survey, we had an amazing response”.

Commenting on the results, Statistician, Brian Cahill, said: “Each of us has a unique experience of life at home, with different relationships, supports and challenges. The distribution of power and decision-making in private life, which has an influence on the ability of people to access opportunities outside the home, is infrequently measured. This is why the CSO has produced a snapshot of ‘Life at Home’ in Ireland in May and June 2021, which is the first publication to be produced from this data collection initiative.

This report shows that 42% of respondents who live with a partner reported that the responsibility for organising and taking care of household chores is balanced. One in three (31%) people said that responsibility for home and garden maintenance tasks is balanced, while 61% reported that responsibility for financial decisions related to the household’s savings, investments and borrowings is balanced.

Differences in the division of responsibilities are evident between men and women and between same sex and opposite sex couples. For example, women living with a male partner were less likely to say that the responsibility for organising and taking care of household chores is balanced, at 31%, compared with 46% of women who live with a female partner.”

 Further results include:

Couples Analysis - Respondents Living with a Spouse/Partner

• One in three (31%) people living with a partner said that responsibility for home and garden maintenance tasks is balanced, while 61% reported that responsibility for household financial decisions related to the household’s savings, investments and borrowings is balanced
• Men who live with a partner are most likely to be satisfied with the division of household tasks with just under half (46%) reporting a High satisfaction rate compared to 31% of women

Same Sex and Opposite Sex Couples

• Those who live with a partner of the same sex were more likely to report a balanced division of responsibilities for household chores at 51%, compared with 42% for those living with a partner of the opposite sex
• Financial decisions related to the household’s savings, investments are more likely to be balanced when the person lives with a partner of the opposite sex at 62%, compared with 54% for those in a same sex relationship
• Women living with a male partner were less likely to say that the responsibility for organising and taking care of household chores is balanced, at 31%, compared with 46% of women who live with a female partner 

Opposite Sex Couples

• Men and women have different perceptions of who carries out household tasks, with 65% of women, living with a partner of the opposite sex, saying they are mainly responsible for household chores compared to 38% of men who said their partner takes most responsibility
• Two in three (65%) men living with a female partner said they are responsible for home and garden maintenance, while 54% of women said their male partner is responsible
• Almost four in ten (37%) female respondents that live with a male partner and at least one child reported that they are mostly responsible for providing structure and discipline to the child(ren). Just over one in ten (12%) men reported that their female partner is mostly responsible for providing structure and discipline to the child(ren)
• Eight in ten men (80%) and six in ten (62%) women reported that the responsibility for providing structure and discipline to the child(ren) is balanced. This again highlights the difference in perceptions between men and women around who is mostly responsible for household and family tasks and duties

Respondents Living Alone, Lone Parents and House Sharing

• Although one in three (34%) respondent that live alone would prefer to live with others, almost nine in ten (86%) said that they are happy living alone
• Three-quarters of lone parents (74%) said they have someone to count on if they have a serious personal problem
• Just under seven in ten (68%) lone parents said they are often under financial pressure while four in ten (41%)* reported feeling lonely all or most of the time.
• Approximately half (48%) said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent
• Just over three-quarters (76%) who share rented accommodation with non-family members feel they will never be in a position to own their own place
• Although seven in ten (71%) of house sharing respondents said they enjoy the company of others in the shared accommodation, more than half (51%) feel that they don’t have enough privacy.
• More than four in ten (44%) people house sharing reported feeling lonely all or most of the time. This is higher than the rate reported by those living alone (17%) and the rate reported by lone parents (41%)*

 Adult Respondents Living with Parents or Respondents Living with Adult Children

• Almost six in ten (57%) respondents who live with a parent said they enjoy living with their parent(s), while almost nine in ten (87%) parents who have an adult child living with them reported that they enjoy living with their adult child(ren)
• Almost nine in ten (88%) respondents who are living with a parent said they would prefer to live apart from their parent(s). Half (50%) of parents who live with an adult child would prefer if they lived apart
• Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 29% of respondents living with both parents reported that their relationship with their mother improved and 16% reported that this relationship has disimproved. For those living with one parent, 19% reported an improvement and 27% reported a disimprovement in the relationship with the parent
• Three in ten (30%) parents who live with their adult children said their relationship has improved since the start of the COVID crisis, while 8% said the relationship has disimproved

Pets

• More than half (52%) of respondents said they have a pet in their home, with 28% of respondents having a dog(s) only and 12% having only a cat(s)
• One in five (20%) of those with a pet has acquired the pet since the start of the pandemic
• The majority of people who live with a pet in this survey (87%) said their pet has a positive impact on their mental health and well-being

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