Typology of Weekend Time Use and Time Use Satisfaction of Married Working Men with a Preschool Child in Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to look into how married working men with a child younger than six years old spent their weekend time either alone or with their wives on housework, family care, and leisure activities, and to find out whether different types of time use brought about different levels of satisfaction to their use of time on weekends. Factors associated with each type were also explored. We analyzed 857 weekend time diaries of married men with a preschooler and men who worked more than 40 hours a week. This data came from the 2009 Time Use Survey conducted by Statistics Korea. Descriptive statistics and cluster analysis results showed that weekend time distribution to those three activities was classified into four different types, namely, 'nonparticipation', 'personal leisure centered', 'couple leisure centered', and 'family centered'. Time use satisfaction for 'couple leisure centered' and 'family centered' types which involved wife and child was significantly higher than the other two types. Age and traditional gender role attitude were associated with the personal leisure and couple leisure centered types, while work related factors such as work hours, regular day off, employment status, and occupation functioned as determinants of the nonparticipation type. Findings from this study suggest that weekend time spent together with family could be the source of satisfaction, but almost half of the respondents were deprived of their weekend family time due to work schedules on weekends. This study supports the need for organizational and policy efforts to ensure non-working weekends for fathers and husbands.--