WORK HOME BALANCE: RELATION BETWEEN UNPAID AND PAID WORK
*Mona Mehra
Work Home Balance : Relation between Unpaid & Paid Work
We are all interconnected in the
scheme of things. When we talk about balancing there are many aspects of life
we balance in a day be it home, family, job/ business, health, spirituality,
hobbies children, caregiving etc. Each one of us has different circumstances
hence the variables of balancing vary.
Home is central fact of our life as
we might be anywhere in the world we eventually come back home. A home is made with multiple dimensions and
which includes chores, parenting or parent leadership, caregiving of children
and elderly, couple relationship and relationship with other family members.
Unpaid Work = Free Work = Home
All the work we do in a home comes in
unpaid work category. What does this mean? This means nobody is going to pay us
for this work. But then when was this supposed to be paid? In other words, it
is called Free. Why is this free? Because when we do it ourselves it is free.
This aspect needs to be understood as it is here that all problems starts.
People think that unpaid work is demeaning and derogatory as this is unpaid and
we are not supposed to do it but rather it is the work we do ourselves and is
critical to survival without which we cannot exist.
Unpaid work refers to activities
performed without receiving monetary compensation. Here are some common types
of unpaid work:
1. Household and Domestic Work – Cooking,
Cleaning, Laundry, Gardening, Home maintenance and repairs.
2. Childcare- Feeding, bathing, and
dressing children, helping with homework, transporting children to school or
extracurricular activities, reading to or playing with children.
3. Elderly and Dependent Care - Assisting
elderly family members or those with disabilities, providing medical care, such
as administering medicines, helping with mobility or daily tasks.
4. Volunteering- Community service, assisting
in non-profits or charitable organizations, supporting local events or causes.
5. Subsistence Activities- Farming or
gardening for self-consumption, collecting water or firewood in rural areas.
6. Family Business or Farm Work- Assisting
in family-owned businesses without receiving pay, supporting agricultural or
craft production.
7. Social and Community Activities -
Organizing or participating in cultural, religious, or community events, caring
for neighbors or community members in need.
8. Informal Caregiving - Supporting
friends, extended family, or neighbors with childcare or elder care, helping
others with errands, transportation, or emotional support.
9. Emotional Labor - Providing
emotional support to family and friends, managing household relationships and
conflict resolution
10. Education Support- Tutoring
children or family members, assisting with online learning or homeschooling.
Paid Work= Job/ Business
Paid work refers to any activity or
employment for which an individual receives monetary compensation. It mostly refers to job or business which can
be different types of arrangements like full time, part time, freelancing or
gig Work, self-Employment, entrepreneurship etc.
Relation between Paid and Unpaid Work
Home is the central point of our
lives as we all start from here and we might be anywhere in the world we all
like to come back home at the end of the day. According to economics, a
Household is the basic unit where families thrive and their needs are serviced
by the business/jobs. Government gets taxes from the organizations which
provide products and services to the need of the household and families living
in them. Almost all the business is directly
or indirectly related to a home as that is the central point of our lives. In a
home all the work we do is free and in business we convert the same to
business. The scale is smaller in a home whereas when made into business the
scale becomes larger. Businesses
associated with home-
·
Food Business - Food
was first made in a Home and the first morsel was eaten by us there only before
it became eating business. Restaurants, hotels mostly have a tagline ‘Home away
from Home’.
·
Laundry Business got the
idea from the laundry we did in a home first.
·
Cleaning services was
simply cleaning in a homes.
·
Human Resources –We
all started as children who were nurtured in a Home and leadership, mentoring,
guidance etc. is present in a home also.
·
Estate Management-Managing
the cleanliness, maintenance, whitegoods repairs, painting etc. comes into the
preview managing the estate which started with home management.
·
Caregiving Economy –
Caregiving work done by mothers (genderless role) included taking care of
children, elderly, disabled, ailing etc. The same is when done by paid worker
it becomes caregiving economy.
Umpteen number of business I can outline which cater to needs in a
home. In-fact every person comes from a home and directly or indirectly
businesses are linked to us and our homes.
Existence of a Home
· Free
Work needs to Exist - Currently
the problem we face is the existence of a Home. Why? A home is made with unpaid
work as we all start as children and we learn to our own work ourselves.
Parents can never do the work for their children for money, it is supposed to
be free. Also 90% of people across the world cannot afford maids.
· Productivity
Trap - If a mother does cooking for her
family, it is not at par with if she cooks for a neighbor for money. Why? The
work is the same. The discrimination started when in our policies we made paid
work as the benchmark. This means only paid work is productive and everyone
needs to prove themselves by doing paid work only. This means-
o Nobody can do their own work in a home and we will have to look
for someone else to do our work.
o Children have to prove themselves by making money. Elderly have to
prove themselves by making money. Ailing, handicap have to prove themselves by
making money. Everybody needs to prove themselves by making money. But why?
When was a child supposed to make money, it is when we reach a certain age
group we go out to earn money and when we retire we stop doing that.
· Unpaid
work just not enough and is perceived demeaning. By itself unpaid work has no standing and is considered not at
par with paid work. If I as a mother say – I cook for my family. – This has no
value because our benchmark of work is paid work. It has to be converted to
money for it to become work.
· Poor
Perception – Because of the poor perception of
unpaid work in a home which nobody accepts as work and is of no value, women/
girls especially are refusing to do it. This has become a major cause of
discord in a home.
· The way our policies are now, it is impossible to make a family
and existence of home is in danger.
In work home balance, both unpaid and paid work go hand in hand as
they are interrelated to each other. One does not exist without the other.
Freedom of choice is the biggest self-expression for all of us regardless of
gender. However, we only accept paid work as work which makes it the benchmark
and hence the unpaid /free work in a home does not qualify. With this policy in
place we just cannot make a home and existence of home is in danger. How can
humankind survive without a home is the biggest question?
What do you think can work home balance exist like this?
*Mona Mehra is a Work- Home Balance Coach, Speaker and Trainer. If you are
facing burnout or are trying to get better with work home balance, connect with
her at mona@monamehra.com or
whatsapp-9999340004
THIS EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE WAS COMMISSIONED AS OUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT CONTRIBUTION TO IMPORTANT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF THE PRESENT TIMES