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

Each of us has a unique 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 Central Statistics Office (CSO) has produced a snapshot of ‘Life at Home’ in Ireland in May and June 2021.  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 which is based on the information collected from the first online Pulse Survey of the CSO ‘Take Part’ campaign. Pulse surveys, which take the ‘pulse’ of the country about an issue at a point in time, are usually short and frequent. They allow the public an opportunity to get involved in CSO surveys so that your story can become part of the story of Ireland. The is the first of four publications planned from this survey and we hope it will help the CSO to provide relevant, timely and insightful data for the public.

This online survey was carried out between Monday 24 May and Monday 7 June 2021 and was open to anyone aged 18 and over who was living in private accommodation in the Republic of Ireland. The online electronic questionnaire was available on the CSO.ie website and on all CSO social media platforms.  There were 10,454 responses.

The results in this report reflect only the responses of those who completed the Pulse survey questionnaire.  While results are benchmarked to Irish population totals, the findings cannot be generalised to the entire Irish population, as the people who answered the questionnaire were not chosen at random from the population.  Even with this caveat however, we hope that this report provides a valuable insight into life at home in Ireland.  See the Background Notes for further details on the survey methodology.

Couples Analysis - Respondents Living with a Spouse/Partner

• Overall, 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 living with a partner 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.
• Men who live with a partner were 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.
• The vast majority of men and women living with a partner said they feel free to spend money on themselves without asking their partner’s permission. Women were more likely (93%) than men (84%) to feel this freedom around spending money on themselves.
• 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.
• 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.
• Financial decisions 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.
• 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 mostly 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 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

• Of respondents who live alone, 92% said they feel safe and secure in their home, while 86% said they are happy living alone.
• Over eight in ten (83%) respondents that live alone reported that they have someone to count on if they had a serious personal problem.
• One in three (34%) people who live alone said they would prefer to live with others and 17% said they feel lonely all or most of the time.

Lone Parent Respondents

• Three in four (74%) lone parents said they have someone to count on if they had a serious personal problem, compared with 83% of respondents that live alone.
• Just under seven in ten (68%) lone parents said they are often under financial pressure compared with three in ten (30%) of those that live alone.
• Four in ten (41%)* lone parents reported feeling lonely all or most of the time.
• Approximately half (48%) said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent.
• Nearly four in ten (37%) said they have someone to help provide educational support to their child(ren).

*Due to a processing error, the values for Lone Parents – Feeling lonely all or most of the time were incorrectly reported. This has been corrected as of 11.00 on 24/06/2021.

House Sharing Respondents

• More than three-quarters (76%) of respondents 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 these 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.
• Over four in ten (44%) 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 Respondent Living with Parents or Respondents Living with Adult Children

• Almost six in ten (57%) of those who live with a parent said they enjoy living with their parent(s). In comparison, 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.
• Just over six in ten (62%) adult children would miss their parent(s) if they lived apart, while more than seven in ten (73%) parents with adult children would miss them if they lived separately.
• Respondents living with both parents were more likely to report that their relationship with their parents has improved since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. For example, 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-19 crisis, while 8% said the relationship has disimproved

Gender Identity

• Of all respondents, 0.6% reported that their gender identity differs to their sex registered at birth.

Pets

• Over half (52%) of respondents said that 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.

People living in a couple were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the division of household tasks and chores between themselves and their partner, from 0 (Not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied). A satisfaction score of 0-5 is defined as Low satisfaction, 6-8 is Medium and 9-10 is High satisfaction.

Men who live with a partner are the most likely to be satisfied with the division of household tasks. Just under half (46%) of these men have a High satisfaction rate compared with 31% of women.  A similar proportion of men and women in cohabitating couples rated their satisfaction with the division of task as Medium, 39% and 37% respectively.  See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.2.

Those living with a partner were asked whether the division of household tasks and chores between themselves and their partner has changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Almost one in four (24%) men said that division of household tasks and chores are more balanced since COVID-19, compared to 20% of women.  See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.3.

Same Sex and Opposite Sex Couples - Respondents Living with a Partner of the Same or Opposite Sex

Of respondents living with a spouse or partner, 96% said they are in an opposite sex relationship while 4% are in a same sex relationship.  Those living with a same sex partner reported a more even division of responsibility for household chores and home and garden maintenance, while people living with a partner of the opposite sex are more likely to report that decisions relating to household finances are balanced.  These divisions of responsibilities differ as men and women in each type of couple are investigated further.

One in three (31%) female respondents that live with a man said that the responsibility for household chores is balanced, compared with 46% for women in same sex relationships.  Just over half of men in both same sex and opposite sex relationships said responsibility for household chores is balanced, at 52% and 53% respectively.

Women in an opposite sex relationship were more likely to say that the responsibility for household chores is mostly theirs (65%), compared with 44% for women in same sex relationships.  For men, 9% in opposite sex couples said they are mostly responsible for the household chores compared with 34% in same sex couples.  See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.4.

Almost two-thirds of both men and women (62%) who live with a partner of the opposite sex said that the responsibility for financial decisions is balanced compared with 55% of women and 54% of men in same sex relationships.

More than six in ten (65%) men in opposite sex couples said they take most responsibility for household and garden maintenance compared with about four in ten (41%) in same sex couples.

The primary responsibility for household and garden maintenance is fairly evenly distributed between women who responded and their partners in same sex couples, with 28% saying they have responsibility compared with 30% saying their spouse or partner is responsible. The remaining 42% said these tasks are divided evenly.  In contrast, more than half (54%) of women in opposite sex couples said their spouse/partner is mostly responsible.  See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.5.

Men living with a partner of the opposite sex are the most likely to have a High satisfaction rate with the division of household tasks and chores.  Just under half (47%) of these respondents have a High satisfaction rate, followed by 39% of men in a same sex relationship, 35% of women in a same sex relationship and 31% of women in an opposite sex relationship.

Women living with a male partner were most likely to report a Low satisfaction rate with the division of household tasks and chores with 32% reporting a Low satisfaction, followed closely by women in same sex couples at 27%.  See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.6.

Opposite Sex Couples – Respondents Living with a partner of the Opposite Sex

Women were more likely to say they are mostly responsible for household chores (65%) compared to 9% of men.  Men were more likely to say they mostly take care of home and garden maintenance (65%) compared to 15% of women.

Female respondents were very likely to say they have the main responsibility for organising and taking care of household chores at 65%, while 38% of men said their partner takes the most responsibility.  This shows different perceptions by men and women over who carries out these chores.  Just over three in ten women (31%) said responsibility is balanced compared with more than five in ten men (53%).

Men and women have similar perceptions around who takes care of financial decisions, with 62% of both men and women saying this work is shared evenly.

Both male and female respondents agreed that more males are responsible for organising and taking care of home and garden maintenance. More than six in ten men (65%) said they are mostly responsible for these tasks compared with over five in ten women (54%) who said their partner has responsibility.  About three in ten males (29%) and females (31%) said that home and garden maintenance duties are balanced.

Male and female respondents with children have different perceptions around how the responsibility of providing structure and discipline to children is shared.  Men are very likely to say this work is balanced at 80% compared with just 62% of women.  Only 12% of men said their partner has most responsibility for the children compared with 37% of women who said they have the main responsibility.  See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.7.

The vast majority of men and women said they feel free to spend money on themselves without asking their partner’s permission.  Women were more likely (93%) than men (83%) to feel this freedom around money.  See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.8.

Respondents Living Alone, Lone Parents & House Sharing

People who live alone were asked a series of questions about their lives and their attitudes to their living arrangements.  Of the people who live alone, 92% said they feel safe and secure in their home, 86% said they are happy living alone and 83% have someone to count on if they had a serious personal problem.  Three in ten said they are often under financial pressure.

One in three (34%) people who live alone reported they would prefer to live with others while 17% said they feel lonely all or most of the time.  See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.9.

Lone parents with children aged 18 years and under were also asked these questions to provide insight into their experience of life at home.

Three-quarters of lone parents (74%) said they have someone to count on if they had a serious personal problem.  Just under seven in ten (68%) said they are often under financial pressure compared with three in ten (30%) of those that live alone. Four in ten (41%)* lone parents reported feeling lonely all or most of the time. Almost half (48%) said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent.

Lone parents were asked if they have someone to provide emotional support to their child or children and 48% said they have, while 37% said they have someone to help provide educational support to their child(ren).  See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.10.

Respondents who share rented accommodation with non-family members were asked questions about their experiences of life in a house share.

Just over three quarters (76%) feel that they will never be in a position to own their own place.

Although seven in ten (71%)  people house sharing said they enjoy the company of others in the shared accommodation, more than half (51%) feel that they don’t have enough privacy.

Over 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%)*.  See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.11.

Life at home’ asked people who are house sharing with non-family members if they have arguments with other people in their house about: sharing of household chores; household expenses; or the use of shared household facilities (e.g. bathroom, cooking area, TV).  Respondents could answer (1) Often (2) Sometimes (3) Hardly ever (4) Never.

Sharing household chores is the main cause of disagreements in house shares for 46% of these respondents, with 12% often and 34% sometimes disagreeing about chores.

The shared use of household facilities is often or sometimes the cause of disagreements for 35% of people while only 23% disagreed about household expenses.  See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.12.

Adult Respondents Living with Parents or Respondents Living with Adult Children

Respondents living with one or both parents, but not with a spouse or partner, were asked questions about their situation. Similarly, parents living with one or more adult children, but not with children under 18, were also asked how they feel about their circumstances.

Almost six in ten (57%) of those who live with a parent said they enjoy living with their parent(s). In comparison, 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 are living with an adult child would prefer if they lived apart.

Just over six in ten (62%) adult children would miss their parent(s) if they lived apart, while more than seven in ten (73%) parents with adult children would miss them if they lived separately.  See Table 1.5 and Figure 1.13.

COVID-19 has had a major impact on the life and relationships in many homes across the country.  Respondents living with both parents are more likely to report that their relationship with their parents has improved since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.  For example, 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-19 crisis, while 8% said the relationship has disimproved.  See Table 1.5 and Figure 1.14.

Gender Identity

This survey included a question asking people if the gender they identify with is the same as their sex registered at birth.  Of people who replied to this question, 0.6% reported that their gender identity differs to their sex registered at birth.  See Table 1.6 and Figure 1.15.

Household Pet

Just over half (52%) of people surveyed have a pet in their home, with 28% having a dog only and 12% having only a cat.  A dog and a cat lived with 7% of respondents, while just 1% have a dog, cat and another pet animal in their home.  See Table 1.7 and Figure 1.16.

There has been a rise in pet ownership since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  One in five (20%) people living with a pet in this survey had acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic.

Pets are an integral part of many Irish homes and can have a significant impact on those who live with them.  The majority of people who live with a pet in this survey (87%) said their pet have a positive impact on their mental health and well-being, with only 2% saying the pet have a negative impact.  See Table 1.7 and Figure 1.17.