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In 2021, 38 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at home on days they worked, and 68 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at their workplace, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
These and other results from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) were released June 23. They include the average amount of time per day in 2021 that individuals worked, did household activities, and engaged in leisure and sports activities. Additionally, measures of the average time per day spent providing childcare–both as a primary (or main) activity and while doing other things are provided. For a detailed description of ATUS data and methodology, see the Technical Note.
Working (by Employed Persons) in 2021
On days they worked, 38 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at home and 68 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at their workplace. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers were less likely to work at home (24 percent) and more likely to work at their workplace (82 percent) on days they worked.
On average, those who worked at their workplace did so for 7.8 hours on days they worked, and those who worked at home did so for 5.6 hours. These averages include all times working at home, whether or not the work was done on a scheduled workday.
On days they worked, more than half of workers in management, business, and financial operations occupations and professional and related occupations did some or all of their work at home (59 percent and 57 percent, respectively). Those employed in other occupations were less likely to work at home on days they worked.
Among workers age 25 and over, those with an advanced degree were more likely to work at home than were persons with lower levels of educational attainment–67 percent of those with an advanced degree performed some work at home on days worked, compared with 19 percent of those with a high school diploma and no college. Workers with an advanced degree also were more likely to work on an average day than were those with a high school diploma and no college–74 percent, compared with 64 percent.
Employed women living with a child under age 6 worked an average of 4.5 hours per day (about 31.5 hours per week). They performed 34 minutes per day less work for pay than employed women living in households with older children. (See table 8B.)
On days they worked, employed men worked 43 minutes more than employed women. This difference partly reflects women’s greater likelihood of working part time. However, even among full-time workers (those usually working 35 hours or more per week), men worked more per day than women–8.4 hours, compared with 7.8 hours. (See table 4.)
On days they worked, women were more likely than men to do some or all of their work at home–42 percent of women, compared with 35 percent of men.
Household Activities in 2021
On an average day, 86 percent of women and 71 percent of men spent some time doing household activities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or household management.
On the days they did household activities, women spent an average of 2.7 hours on these activities, while men spent 2.2 hours.
On an average day, 21 percent of men did housework–such as cleaning or laundry– compared with 49 percent of women.
On average, more people engaged in housework on weekend days than on weekdays: 40 percent compared with 34 percent. Food preparation and cleanup was the only household activity that more people engaged in on weekdays than on weekend days (63 percent compared with 59 percent).
To view the full American Time Use Survey Summary and accompanying tables, click here.
