Household Workload Balance Calculator

When couples compare who does more, they tend to compare jobs: her hours at the office against his. The calculator above counts everything: paid work, the commute, housework, childcare and the time spent looking after parents. What's left out of 168 hours is each person's actual free time.

The example numbers are made up to show how it works. Replace them with a normal week for the two of you, not a bad week or a good one. If you aren't sure about housework, track it roughly for three days and multiply.

Reading the numbers fairly

• Free hours are what's left after work, home, care and sleep. Showering, eating and getting dressed come out of that too, so the real figure is lower for both of you.
• Your share of home + care can be high even when total workloads match, for example if your partner works much longer paid hours. That's a fair trade only if you've both agreed to it.
• The calculator can't see effort. An hour sorting a parent's paperwork isn't the same as an hour of washing up. Use the numbers to start the conversation, not to end it.

What the research says

Pew Research Center's October 2026 report on women, work and caregiving found that in marriages where both spouses earn about the same, wives still do more of the caregiving and housework, and husbands spend more time on leisure. If your numbers look like that, you are far from alone.