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50% of Japanese women think work hampers married life: survey

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They didn’t bother to ask the guys what they think?

29 ( +33 / -4 )

An Unhappy wife,is an Unhappy life

16 ( +23 / -7 )

Its a fact of Life. You get pregnant, and have a Kid - who will look after it ?

Unless you're super Rich, it's basically down to you.

If you are Married, then, and if you are really lucky, your Husband will help out too as much as he can , though he may earn more than you, and therefore keeping his Job would seem to be a priority... which therefore places more burden upon you.

Now of course, for the eagle eyed amongst you, I did say, he may "earn more than you", but what if he didn't...

let's say you are the owner of a small Company, and your husband is a loveable dunce...., so what do you do ?

And even, if you are both on equal pay .... what do you do ?

its a fact of Life, if you want to have Kids, one person has to switch roles - otherwise engage the Grandparents.... if you can... and that, somewhat goes against the grain of a Mobile Workforce.

This is not a new problem.

What is New, is the current thought process on how we can make things better.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Conversely, 32.8 percent of women responded that they "do not really think" that work becomes a hindrance to marriage, and 14.6 percent said they "do not think so at all."

Alternative headline: 50% of Japanese women do not think work hampers married life: survey

11 ( +20 / -9 )

The good old 549 person survey

10 ( +15 / -5 )

Work hampers life, in general.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

What's bad for the goose, is good for the gander? The reverse may also be true, but modern life under the present forms of capitalism puts too much pressure on both sexes to the detriment of their offspring in particular.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

How about a new headline: “Lack of childcare hampers work life” or “Unhelpful husbands hamper work life”

9 ( +12 / -3 )

Working doesn’t hamper marriage as much as not working.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Asia man "Whats an unhappy husband " you ask

Me. Wife has moved in with MIL {87 years old } to care for her.

I wake to a morning of take away curry containers and empty sake bottles.

There's a song in there somewhere....."Oh! Lonesome me ..."

6 ( +9 / -3 )

An Unhappy wife,is an Unhappy life

What’s an unhappy husband?

5 ( +11 / -6 )

We need to review the career development process for young Japanese individuals. Under the current arrangements it's still extremely difficult for most women (but many men as well) to start over for a serious career after child-raising. That's why the young are more reluctant to leave work to start a family, which must have affected Japan's record low birthrate.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

The diversity agenda, in which getting women into the workforce is one aim, is a massive scam by corporations wrapped up in a cuddly cover of compassion: https://youtu.be/c3FSLzjmHX8

And what if a woman does not want to be a housewife, be a financial supporter of the family too, can't she ask the husband to help at home a little bit more? A kid is not born to only the mother, how much time we have to say, it takes two people to make a child, and a village to raise them...

If you are Married, then, and if you are really lucky, your Husband will help out too as much as he can , though he may earn more than you, and therefore keeping his Job would seem to be a priority... which therefore places more burden upon you.

Why people always make sound it like it's either only take care of his job or taking care of the child? What about trying to change the working hours to be more at home and help a little bit more? I don't see why women can do work and childrearing at the same time and not the men.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

If and when Men learn to help and be a real partner then the wife's life can become easier and pleasant.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

So many things hinder marriage, but one of the main ones has to be a lack of time and opportunities to socialize with people outside of a very close circle. I know too many people who ended up just marrying someone roughoy the same age at work.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Basically after 18:00 offices are nearly 100% male

and whos fault is that, yours or management?

productivity doesn't always equal more hrs worked

5 ( +8 / -3 )

An Unhappy wife,is an Unhappy life

agreed, also when 1 salary isnt enough money to pay the bills , youve got a unhappy wife also,

only one way to fix it, 2 salaries

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I think what was left out of the article (or study) was share of non child-rearing housework borne by the respondents. I suspect that the households in which both spouses work but the husband helps with the cleaning and cooking have wives who are happier to be working, whereas the ones where the husband still expects the wife to do all the cooking and cleaning were not happier to be working.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Not being able to pay the bills hampers a marriage. Coming home drunk after work hampers a marriage.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I haven't seen the questionnaire, but the wording seems pretty vague to achieve anything. A bit like something a bunch of men in suits would organise without real consideration for those this is meant to help.

Of course, women are usually much happier doing what they did traditionally... you know, as they evolved to do and did throughout human history...

Staying at home with kids has nothing to do with evolution and all to do with capitalism. I'd recommend looking at history older than 300 years before making claims about what was true "throughout history".

3 ( +8 / -5 )

549 women LoL, I stopped reading after that sentence.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

It depends on how the question is framed.

In the west, the question might be does married life interfere with work?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

When both spouses come home at the earliest 7:30 pm or later, kids are at juku till 8:00 pm, at least one weekend day is spent doing chores you couldn't do during the week. Not my life but I see this happen a lot with the people around me who have kids older than 9.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It's all a myth. The work life balance is just a reason to convince people that they should work more, pay more tax and some how everyone will be happier. The stress and work of raising a family, and work of course will impact relationships, when both parents now argue about house chores. Keep them poor and make them work harder, increase the stress, pressure, and then they wonder why the birth rate is going down, and to compensate immigration will have to increase. The government can't have its cake and eat it, and neither can the women/men that they role out on TV. Who incidentally seem to be some CEO, or a LAWYER and earn way above the average salary.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Northernlife

Today 04:31 pm JST

He may be a comedian and claims it is all a joke but it sounds like all my married friends in Japan!

Sounds like my first wife!

Now it is my present wife makes the real money controls all the money and basically I am the driver, handyman, builder, cook, housemaid, etc ...

She likes her career hates house work and cooking.

So I tend to my craft in my home workshop, then make meals, clean the house, basically do everything she hates.

But we are seen as completely strange by her friends, my friends wives and most of the Japanese family

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Now take that 50% and toss it in the trash and replace it with 80~90%.

This was a "survey" done by a staffing agency and those answering are probably people that work for or depend on jobs from that agency.

This is like and internal survey of a Japanese company, few are willing to answer what they really think if they think the answer may identify them and hinder their future at the company.

Imagine the Married woman at the temp staff agency being asked does working cause you trouble in your marriage? does working cause trouble raising children?

She is already at a disadvantage as more likely being older ( age discrimination is alive and well in Japan just go to "Hello work" and see how many jobs say under 40)

So she isn't going to take the chance of being identified and saying yes work cause family problems, this would be a sure way of losing a job or not getting any future jobs.

I just asked my wife how she would answer if it was company or just random from a survey company.

As suspected, even if the company questionnaire was supposedly anonymous she would say "no work doesn't" out of precautions if random no knowledge of her work place of name telephone number, etc..she would reply "yes it interferes greatly".

2 ( +6 / -4 )

love autocorrect.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Very good comment full of common sense from Abe234.

I follow also Reckless´s comment.

Many many Japanese women are more happy than you think. Only in the love field they are missing a point hence the decrease of population.

I find despicable housewives to be treated as second class citizens. My grand mothers, my mother, my wife have been or are and have brought society some very good and my family respected them a lot, even if their job was not as an employee with a salzry at the end of a month.

Acceptance of a situation in a couple is the thing to target, not working as a staff. That is only one of a solution to get money.

By the way, no need to be married to assess the situation within a couple. That is outdated perspective.

Good luck to all couples to find the balance.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Only 50%? Work hamlets all life! not only married.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Exactly what is this survey supposed to prove ?

Ridiculous nonsense.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

This is surely just a statement of the bleeding obvious. A wife who works is going to find it much more difficult to fulfill her domestic role. How could anyone not see that? I presume that the 50% of women who did not agree were unmarried.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

100% of unmarried men thin work hampers single life.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

wtfjapan

Today 12:57 pm JST

Basically after 18:00 offices are nearly 100% male

> and whos fault is that, yours or management?

> productivity doesn't always equal more hrs worked

Well let's see......

If I am dropped on my desk the unfinished work of my female coworkers that get to leave on time, is that my fault, management or the women that don't see it as their responsibility to finish their work?

You decide.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Of course, women are usually much happier doing what they did traditionally... you know, as they evolved to do and did throughout human history...

I triple-dog dare you to man-sprain this to a group of educated women sans protective gear.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

NOW, the enlightened of us realize that women are (gasp!) fully-cognitive, indeed self-aware, EQUAL members of society who can do all but the most brute strength work as well or (double gasp!) better than their male counterparts.

That is a joke, right?

They don't want equality or should I say they only want equality on the good stuff, equal pay but forget equal work, the instant they are treated like their male counterparts, they file "harrassment" or "bullying" complaints.

Try this, two coworkers are to head to a conference. If the company picks two men, the get a twin 2 bed hotel room, if a man and a woman, the company has to pay more for 2 separate rooms, if 2 women in most cases the women will object to sharing a room and often file complaints based on women needed a different level of privacy due to female things.

Yep this has actually been done and now in certain western countries accept as a necessity for women.

Now I expect the reply to be something like " time for men to stand up and demand the same" only one problem.

Money! Men are still expected to be the ones providing the means to support the family, not only the wife and children but often his and her parents.

So "taking a stand" is a risk few men can afford.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

My concern is not that every woman works at a job, but that those who want to do so are treated equitably.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Nemo

They did it by seeing women as uneducated, nay uneducable, unequal and therefore less valuable sources of unpaid labor, sexual tension relief and child producers. That’s how our forefathers did it.

I agree that probably many did see women that way. But I also think there were other (now fading) positive mindsets towards chilbearing by both women and men that contibuted as well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sigh.... There's a lot of People making comments upon Life in Japan, when they have never actually experienced Life in Japan themselves...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@JT Moderators - (Since the Readership here, is Global) There's a good opportunity here for an article that compares Japan based Family Life to those in other Countries. For example, how is Work / Family Life balance helped within other Countries compared to Japan.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

100% Accurate, NorthernLife

0 ( +0 / -0 )

An Unhappy wife,is an Unhappy life

It used to be that a woman would be happy staying home and being a housewife, but these days with social media and instagram, even that doesn't cut it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

50% of Japanese women think work hampers married life: survey

And the other half don’t know what to think!

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Agreed, and especially true in regard to child-rearing. Many families are nuclear families and don't have family members to care for or can't afford adequate child care, and many kids return to an empty home after school. Some of these kids can be seen in the convenience stores shopping for their dinners. This is not good.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The other 50% won’t even consider getting married

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Mark

Today 09:04 am JST

If and when Men learn to help and be a real partner then the wife's life can become easier and pleasant

I should point out I was a single father and I experienced the difference.

If a female co-worker's children got sick and the school called, they left work no questions no problems.

If it was my children, I was told "the teacher is with him no need for you to go" "if you leave now you are fired".

I watched as the same level female coworkers just left on time while I was expected to remain an complete my work and theirs.

Basically after 18:00 offices are nearly 100% male

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Our forefathers somehow managed to have a birthrate triple that of most modern advanced nations. How did they manage?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I don't really understand how "work for a woman is a hindrance to marriage",

It isn't or at least no more than it is for a man.

The difference isn't children, house work, etc...

The difference is women don't want work to interfere with family as men have long understood, work interferes with family, play time, hobbies and everything else not work related.

I know at least 20 times more than mrn the that just quit their jobs because they didn't like it or didn't like their coworkers, etc.. and they quit without having any other job in the cue!

Expecting husbands, boyfriends, Daddy to "help" while they "look" for another job.

Honestly I may have met 3 or 4 guys in my nearly 6 decades that quit a job with no backup and all were single and well off financially.

So men tend to take abuse and put up with stuff that working women don't want to and often don't have to because their husband, Father, etc...do and stay with their jobs to support her when she just quits

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

WobotJuly 24  08:39 am JST

Of course, women are usually much happier doing what they did traditionally... you know, as they evolved to do and did throughout human history...

Gains in women’s rights haven't made women happier. Why is that?

Since the 70s, women in the US and Europe have reported feeling less satisfied with their lives

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/18/womens-rights-happiness-wellbeing-gender-gap

The diversity agenda, in which getting women into the workforce is one aim, is a massive scam by corporations wrapped up in a cuddly cover of compassion: https://youtu.be/c3FSLzjmHX8

Or, it's women wanting to use their brains and skills, like men have always been able to do. Or, it's women not having or wanting to be dependent on a man. Or, it's women wanting to engage in society in a manner in which they deem meaningful and not one they are told is meaningful for them. Or, it's women simply wanting the same opportunities that men are assumed to be capable of just because they are men. Or, it's women needing to provide for themselves after they've divorced and been left in poverty, the rate of which is nearly triple that of men who've divorced. Or, it's women needing to provide for themselves in order to be able to leave an abusive situation. Or, they just want to work and the reasons why are none of your d@#n business!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Our forefathers somehow managed to have a birthrate triple that of most modern advanced nations. How did they manage?

Irrelevant non-sequitur alert!

This is nether relevant nor desired, but sure, I’ll bite:

They did it by seeing women as uneducated, nay uneducable, unequal and therefore less valuable sources of unpaid labor, sexual tension relief and child producers. That’s how our forefathers did it.

NOW, the enlightened of us realize that women are (gasp!) fully-cognitive, indeed self-aware, EQUAL members of society who can do all but the most brute strength work as well or (double gasp!) better than their male counterparts.

As such we educate them (as I did - am doing for both of my university aged daughters) to the highest standards we can.

We encourage them to pursue whatever makes them happy AND support them in their endeavors be it “traditional” child rearing, investment banking or some combination there of.

And we do the damn laundry, change the diapers at 3 AM and learn how to cook once in a while.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Married life gets in the way of work, more like.

Are they asking men this question?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Lots of Japanese women having a loveless marriage on the onset , should of been a warning,you would not be happy

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Redstorm,never did,do not intend too

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Mark

Today 09:04 am JST

If and when Men learn to help and be a real partner then the wife's life can become easier and pleasant

Ok when companies, female coworkers, etc...stop expecting the men to do more hours than the women,

We hear often about the pay gap, but when we break it down in hours the men spend more hours at the office than female counterparts and this is expected of them.

In the west surveys show that it is considered "acceptable" by businesses for the married and especially with children female employees to leave on time but the same companies frown on male workers doing the same.

Now careful looking for proper information the info presented will show pay of men and women side by side but will ignore working hours except they will make "upper management" info prominent because at that point there is only about 5 hours a week difference.

So the lower ranks men spend over 10 hours on average a week more at work than women ( that is just on the job add in travel time etc...) So sure if we lower the men's time at wo6 raise the women's then men have more time to help around the house, ooops but the women get less home time.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

I don't really understand how "work for a woman is a hindrance to marriage", unless they are suggesting a woman needs to stay home and simply child-rear and "attend to her husband's needs" or what have you. Work for women and men of course can interfere with doing housework for women and men and raising children, but the way it's framed makes it seem one-sided and that both are mutually exclusive. Work is a PART of marriage, be it at a job site, doing a job at home, or home (housework, childcare, etc.) being that job.

Understanding from both partners is absolutely a must, I agree, as is sharing of as many duties as possible, including all types of work, how money is spent, childcare, and more.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

So I guess we all know now who to blame for Japan's abysmal gender gap ranking. Thanks a lot laddies. : j

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

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