Free time, inequalities and caregiving: What happens after work?
- Books
- Culture Folder
- Apr 25
- 5 mins
Recently, perspectives on post-work have gained attention, whether due to the anxiety of losing jobs or the optimism surrounding reduced working hours enabled by artificial intelligence. In this context, the book After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time, written by Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek, comes into play. The book challenges the traditional focus on salaried work and shifts attention to reproductive work, which is now referred to as domestic and care work. The starting point is: why should we want to reduce the time spent on non-remunerated social reproduction?
The response that guides this intriguing book is based on a view of social reproduction that values the freedom of all: one that recognises reproductive work as work, seeks to reduce it where possible and redistributes the remaining time equitably. It offers an analysis of how social reproduction has changed over the last century, emphasising unpaid domestic work, with a primary focus on high-income countries, particularly in the West.
The authors examine this issue from a historical, critical and intersectional standpoint. They challenge the neoliberal “mantra”: productivity has increased by 400% in a century, yet free time has grown by just 3%. Paradoxically, while aristocratic idleness was once the most powerful symbol of social status, today, the focus is on the ability to “never stop”. The workday that has seen the greatest increase is that of highly skilled workers and executives.
The authors suggest that the most significant domestic revolution was the introduction of water and gas to homes, as it drastically reduced the time spent on household tasks, rather than the arrival of household appliances. New technologies have raised cleanliness and hygiene standards, further reinforcing intensive parenting as a key factor in inequality. In fact, the amount of income spent on childcare continues to highlight the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Reproductive work and inequalities
Hester and Srnicek argue that the family is a key site of gender inequality. In all countries with available data, women spend, on average, 3.2 times more time on unpaid work than men. This inequality isn’t just about hours but also the nature of the tasks, with women typically taking on the more demanding chores, leaving them with less free time. The situation becomes even more challenging when women must shoulder unexpected caregiving responsibilities without external support.
However, this book does more than offer a detailed analysis of the history of reproductive work; it also looks at initiatives that provide viable alternatives. For instance, it explores the public housing model in Vienna, which is now seen as a benchmark for many policies, and the experiences of women-loving women in women-only spaces. In these spaces, they took on all tasks and began questioning what it means to be a woman, grappling with the contradiction of trying to undo gender while enforcing rigid, biologically determined roles.
The authors propose a community-driven rethink of technological innovation and the creative process. They argue against approaches that reduce freedom to merely choosing an individual appliance and instead advocate for alternatives like community kitchens. In other words, they call for conscious, collective control over how technological advancements are used to reduce the time spent on domestic work.
Perhaps an alternative worth considering is to reframe this type of work – not as something to eliminate or reduce, but as a daily activity that contributes significantly to well-being. This idea isn’t developed in the book, perhaps because, while writing it, the authors had three children and found themselves completely overwhelmed.
After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time
Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek
Verso, 2023. 288 pages
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