The difficult cycle of ‘poverty of time’ that most parents suffer from

Time for yourself, time to spend with your children or time for your household chores .When you talk to someone with children, one form or another of the problem will come up, that time is not enough. The definition of a situation known as ‘poverty of time‘ is very simple in which people constantly feel that there is a lot to do and there is not enough time for it and poverty of time is increasing. According to research, most people are poor over a period of time and this time poverty can be quite severe and its long lasting effects include slightly worse physical health and slightly lower productivity.

But this problem is more common in parents. In the UK, according to 2018 figures, people under the age of 14 have an average of 14 hours less free time each week. According to research, those who take care of someone else’s primary care, especially low-income mothers, have a higher time pressure. But the important thing is that people who are living in poverty at the time are also suffering from social and economic poverty. The Corona virus epidemic has worsened the situation, but experts believe there are ways to reduce the risk.

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The Most Important Effects of Poverty of Time

We live in an age where productivity is highly valued. The term “always on” refers to a culture where work often interferes with our personal lives. Raising children is becoming more and more difficult and our friends, hobbies and interests are just one click or swipe away from our phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Grace Lorden, director of the Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics, says: People often feel that they have to be ready for work, family or friends because we are always connected to technology. There are more organized activities for children now than in the past, so your Saturday is no longer the day to just open the door and ask the children to go out and play. These changes have fundamentally changed our perceptions and feelings about time. ”

Over the past few decades, some people have reaped the benefits of working better, but others have come under increasing pressure due to unpaid responsibilities and increased time spent on academic work, and more often than not. There are women. Time poverty may not be increasing, but time inequality is growing.

Alexander Tomek, associate dean of economics at Boston College, says: Looking after and it disproportionately affects the poor. Families that cannot hire children, or the elderly, or the sick, take on a lot of time in these responsibilities, and the care work is usually done by women, even if it is a partner. I also live together.

Lack of time is a serious problem, especially for women who have children. Research has shown that women in developed countries spend twice as much time on unpaid tasks such as cleaning, babysitting, cooking, while in developing countries it is 3.4 times. In some cases, this is due to obvious inequalities and gender expectations of what women should do. In others, the inequality is not so great.

For many women, a ‘hidden burden’ takes extra time, such as planning meals or preparing activities for children, all of which are not covered by economic growth and productivity statistics. Poverty created by the hidden burden of housework often pushes women, and especially caregivers, out of the workforce or into low-paying jobs.

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Difficult cycle of time poverty

Nicole Valigas, a professional therapist based in Portland, USA, often sees patients who come to her complaining that they do not have enough time during the day. She says most people experience it as a feeling of the fast-moving days and they have found that the poverty of time leads to poor sleep and depression. For some, the health effects can be even more significant. Feelings of distress from domestic responsibilities can delay women’s access to medical care.

A study found that more than a quarter of American women have either postponed or not received their health care in the past 12 months due to lack of time. There is also evidence that time poverty promotes unhealthy eating habits and a lack of exercise, and that people who suffer from a lack of time have lower levels of health.

“Poverty of time creates barriers for those who want to pursue their interests away from responsibilities such as work or family care,” says Valigas. When people live with the poverty of time, they often miss out on recreational activities that can improve their quality of life.

But it’s not just extra time and an opportunity to find new interests that temporarily poor people are losing. Opportunities to improve living conditions also get out of their way. Students with children in college are less likely to complete college than their childless peers, and people with children under the age of 13 spend less time on their education. Experts believe that time is of the essence.

Experts also believe that time constraints are a barrier to finding better employment and that such people often do not have the peace of mind to make better financial decisions. As a result, the economic poverty that they suffer from creates even greater poverty.

For example, if a home does not have access to reliable internet, it will take them longer to complete any task or if you cannot hire an employee to take care of loved ones, it will take your time or if someone If a senior citizen cannot afford to live in the central area, his journey will take longer.

People get caught up in a cycle where their problems lead to more problems. Their low income makes them poor in time but this lack of time also prevents them from improving their economic condition. “From an economic point of view, the poverty of time is manifested in low productivity and ultimately the chances of growth are low,” says Tom. This ultimately leads to a difference in wages.

How to reduce this gap?

The Corona virus epidemic has exacerbated existing problems. In the early stages of lockdown, the duration of work per day increased by an average of 48 minutes, and the proportion of unpaid work done by women increased significantly with home schooling. Anxiety and depression spread to parents, and in the United States, women’s participation in the labor market fell to its lowest level in 30 years as women trapped between work and their homes began to quit their jobs.

Irina Shriyevska, an assistant professor in the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences at Clemson University in the United States, says: Increased poverty of time, such as buying daily necessities for an elderly neighbor. These additional responsibilities fell primarily on the shoulders of women, while many had to reduce their working hours. Non-white women, women without a college degree and low-income women were the most affected.

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Shriviska fears that in the future, the poverty of the time will increase. “As a society, we are constantly raising our expectations for productivity and efficiency, and for engagement and responsibility as parents,” she says. “We admire the people who do everything,” he added. Mothers who have everything are constantly portrayed as ‘super mothers’ on social media and on social media as a target for which efforts are made.

This perception makes the lack of support from the government part of the norm, shifting the responsibility back to mothers. She says real change is needed by both governments and companies to reduce the time and poverty gap, which requires clear policies to support mothers and primary caregivers.

She says the government needs to develop policies that support parents, such as guaranteeing paid leave for parents, and family holidays that should not be seen as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. “More support should be given to unaccompanied parents, additional support should be provided to low-income families and families in rural areas. Companies need to create an environment where employees can take care of their needs without fear of losing their jobs.