Women are the ultimate multitaskers, researchers say, and the emotional experience of multitasking is very different for mothers and fathers. Researchers said not only are working mothers multitasking more frequently than working fathers, but their multitasking experience is more negative. The study found working mothers spend about 10 more hours per week multitasking than do working fathers – 48.3 hours per week for moms compared to 38.9 for dads. “This suggests that working mothers are doing two activities at once more than two-fifths of the time they are awake, while working fathers are multitasking more than one-third of their waking hours,” said study co-author Barbara Schneider of Michigan State University. The study authors said an even bigger issue than the time discrepancy is the difference in the way multitasking makes working mothers and fathers feel. Shira Offer, an assistant professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, said that “only mothers report negative emotions and feeling stressed and conflicted when they multitask at home and in public settings. By contrast, multitasking in these contexts is a positive experience for fathers.”
Monday, December 5, 2011
Women Are The Ultimate Multitaskers
Women are the ultimate multitaskers, researchers say, and the emotional experience of multitasking is very different for mothers and fathers. Researchers said not only are working mothers multitasking more frequently than working fathers, but their multitasking experience is more negative. The study found working mothers spend about 10 more hours per week multitasking than do working fathers – 48.3 hours per week for moms compared to 38.9 for dads. “This suggests that working mothers are doing two activities at once more than two-fifths of the time they are awake, while working fathers are multitasking more than one-third of their waking hours,” said study co-author Barbara Schneider of Michigan State University. The study authors said an even bigger issue than the time discrepancy is the difference in the way multitasking makes working mothers and fathers feel. Shira Offer, an assistant professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, said that “only mothers report negative emotions and feeling stressed and conflicted when they multitask at home and in public settings. By contrast, multitasking in these contexts is a positive experience for fathers.”
