• Posted December 30, 2024

Moms Take on 70% of 'Mental Load' for Household Tasks: Study

If you're a mom right now, you are likely tearing your hair out as you juggle the sizable scheduling demands of the holiday season. Maybe you feel like you are carrying the load alone.

New research suggests you are not imagining things, and that it happens all year long to many moms.

The study, published recently in the Journal of Marriage & Family, reveals that mothers overwhelmingly carry this “mental load.”

What is mental load? It boils down to the thinking needed to keep family life running smoothly. This includes scheduling, planning and organizing tasks.

Exactly how much of this responsibility do moms assume?

Researchers found that mothers take on seven in 10 of all household mental load tasks. These tasks range from planning meals and arranging activities to managing household finances.

"This kind of work is often unseen, but it matters, said researcher Dr. Ana Catalano Weeks, a political scientist in the Department of Politics, Languages & international Studies at the University of Bath in England. "It can lead to stress, burnout and even impact women’s careers. In many cases, resentment can build, creating strain between couples. We hope our research sparks conversations about sharing the mental load more fairly -- something that benefits everyone."

In the study, her team analyzed data from 3,000 U.S. parents, measuring the share of common mental load tasks they typically manage in their household.

Key Findings

• Mothers handle 71% of household tasks that require mental effort—60% more than fathers, who manage just 45%.

• Mums take on 79% of cleaning tasks and childcare -- over twice as much as dads (37%). Dads, meanwhile, focus on finances and home repairs (65%), although mums still do a significant share (53%).

• Parents often overestimate their contributions, but dads do this more than moms.

• Single mums and dads take on the full mental load. Single dads, in particular, do significantly more compared to fathers with partners.

The gender divide in the mental load also impacts women in the workplace. A recent Gallup study showed working mothers are twice as likely as fathers to consider reducing their hours or leaving their jobs due to parental responsibilities, Catalano Weeks said.

"Going forward, the challenge for governments and employers who care about attracting the top talent is how to create policies that are supportive of both mothers and fathers sharing the unpaid work at home," Catalano Weeks said in a university news release. "One policy that comes to mind is well-paid, gender-neutral parental leave -- which both the U.K. and U.S. are way behind on compared to the rest of Europe."

The researchers encouraged families to talk about who carries the heaviest the mental load in the family, and work together to help take the stress out of daily life.

More information

Scripps Health has some stress-relieving tips for busy moms.

SOURCE: University of Bath, news release, Dec. 12, 2024