On behalf of HRF, I recently attended a round table on mental health as a Think Tank observer, at the invitation of the Spanish foundation “The Family Watch.” It is good that you always learn from those who know. And although I left the event a little disgruntled, I have been gradually putting my ideas in place. Let me explain why.

In the discussion on mental health families were criticised, particularly the parents. Although this is hard to hear, there is truth in this. With a cool head we must understand that, although babies do not come with an instruction manual, there are reliable resources available and established experience and wisdom to support us. We must not give in to discouragement or stop making the effort to be parents. We are aware that society is suffering from symptoms of sadness, insecurity and hopelessness. Many adults are worried about uncertainty but with education and prevention, this need not pass to the children. In what follows I am responding to these pressures and not to those suffering from severe psychiatric disorders.

Society is each and every one of us and it is on a one-to-one basis that we can make a difference. We know that what we call “society” does not make it easy, that the inputs our children receive are often contrary to what we think, that the school does not always accompany them when it should be an unconditional ally, that the Internet attracts many more resources than ours, stealing or replacing the figure of the parents… but nobody creates the same bond with a child as his or her parents. Let’s reinforce our advantages.

I heard again that, in mental health and life in general, we must strive for balance. Marc Masip proposed a balance between reason, emotions and will. Rafaela Santos suggested a balance between acceptance, adaptation and resilience as a mechanism for dealing with what happens to us. But there was one piece of advice that opened my eyes again because we always end up with the same message. It was the first “golden rule” that Dr López Ibor, remembered by his daughter, María Inés López-Ibor who is also a psychiatrist, gave his patients to take care of their mental health: “Forget about yourself and think about others“.

Depending on the situation, physical exercise, mindfulness, and medication may all have a role, but getting beyond yourself to give to others is key to mental and emotional well-being. We have ended many posts with this conclusion and it remains true. The other two rules are not to be missed either. Sense of humour: approaching life with real optimism, giving the right importance to problems and laughing a lot at oneself. And finally, transcendence, i.e. the meaning we give to life and how we choose to live it.

If you want to take care of your physical health, you will do sport; if you have cholesterol, you will control your diet. The same applies to maintaining mental health. Noticing there is a problem and seeking the right advice early is vital. The experts made it clear that, in medicine, prevention is always better than cure, and the more aware we are, the better.

And we cannot be alarmed by feeling sad or suffering because emotions, positive or negative, are part of the process of being alive, and we will all experience potentially traumatic events throughout our lives. The key will be prepared to deal together with the things that come our way.

En Home Renaissance Foundation hemos realizado un estudio con el Centro Internacional Trabajo y Familia del IESE Business School, para conocer cómo influye el trabajo del hogar en la persona, la familia y su bienestar laboral.

Organizamos una mesa redonda en el Espacio Telefónica para presentar los resultados el martes 16 de mayo.

Vídeo completo de la sesión aquí | Resumen en español aquí

Además, en estos enlaces podrás encontrar los resultados del estudio, las conclusiones, las infografías y las recomendaciones de los expertos:

1. El Phubbing amenaza nuestra salud mental y el bienestar familiar

Nota de Prensa | Infografías

2. El trabajo del hogar es el nuevo aliado para alcanzar mejores niveles de bienestar laboral

Nota de Prensa | Infografías

3. Una actitud positiva hacia las tareas del hogar influye positivamente en la relación de los padres con sus hijos

Nota de Prensa | Infografías

4. Continúa existiendo desigualdad de género en el cuidado de las tareas del hogar, ahora bien, cuando la pareja goza de buena relación la diferencia es mucho menor

Nota de Prensa | Infografías

Los expertos del ICWF/IESE que han realizado esta investigación son:

Mireia Las Heras | Profesora de Dirección de Personas en las Organizaciones en IESE Business School, Universidad de Navarra, España – donde ejerce como Directora del Centro Internacional Trabajo y Familia.

Yasin Rofcanin | Profesor de Psicología Organizacional y Gestión de Recursos Humanos en la Universidad de Bath y Doctor en Filosofía (Ph.D.), División de Organización y GRH, Doctor en Comportamiento Organizacional en la Universidad de Warwick -Warwick Business School.

Marc Grau | Profesor e Investigador de la Cátedra de Políticas de Atención a la Infancia y a la Familia de la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya y WAPPP Research Fellow de la Harvard Kennedy School.

Para cualquier entrevista o más detalles de la investigación, contactar con Ángela de Miguel

At Home Renaissance Foundation we have carried out a study with the International Work and Family Centre of the IESE Business School, in order to find out how the work of the home influences the person, the family and their well-being at work.

By clicking these links you can access the study`s results, the conclusions, the infographics and the recommendations from the experts:

1. Phubbing threatens our mental health and family wellbeing

2. The work of the home is the new ally for achieving better levels of employee wellbeing

3. A positive attitude towards housework has a positive influence on parents’ relationship with their children

The experts who have carried out this research are:

Mireia Las Heras | Professor of Managing People in Organizations at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain – where she serves as the Director of the International Center for Work and Family.

Yasin Rofcanin | Professor in Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management at the University of Bath and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Organisation and HRM Division, Ph.D. in Organisational Behaviour and HRM at the University of Warwick -Warwick Business School.

Marc Grau | Professor and a Researcher at the Childcare and Family Policies Chair at Universitat International Catalunya and a WAPPP Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

• Men’s attitude towards housework is different from women’s and changes throughout life
• Men have a greater interest in housework after 35, women between 20 and 35
• Between 35 and 50 there is greater similarity in interest and time spent on daily cleaning and cooking

London, January 23, 2023. According to the first study carried out by IESE Business School’s International Center for Work and Family and the London-based international think tank, Home Renaissance Foundation, those parents who are more involved in the work of the home are those who also spend more time with their children and show more interest in their daily tasks and relationships. Those with more interest in housework are more involved in their children’s plans (under 14), talk more with them about their friendships and homework, and play more with them. (See infographics).

When the mother’s attitude towards housework is VERY positive, the number of days per week she spends with her children in various activities is 6 days. This is very similar to the amount of time the father spends with his children when the father’s attitude towards housework is also very positive.

Attitudes towards housework are different for men and women and change with age. Interestingly, attitudes evolve in the opposite direction: while men are more interested in housework from the age of 35 onwards, women are less interested in housework from that age onwards.

Two practical examples:

Cleanliness and tidiness: The need for a clean and tidy home increases with age for men, while women become slightly less demanding with age.

Cooking: The biggest difference between men and women is between the ages of 20 and 35. In this age group, women are 60% more likely to agree that daily cooking is a must. Between the ages of 35 and 50, the difference narrows to 6%, and between the ages of 51 and 65, men agree 18% more strongly that daily cooking is essential.

Is it possible to enjoy housework?

Men and women do not differ substantially (less than 10% difference) in their perception of housework as enjoyable. The biggest difference is in the under 35 age group, where women are 15% more inclined to enjoy housework than men. The most similar age group is the 35-50 age group.

The academics who carried out this study recommend:

–  the media and public campaigns encourage better attitudes towards housework, which in turn will encourage involvement in children’s lives and development.

– couples try to share their responsibilities in the home, understanding that domestic tasks require both planning and carrying them out.

– companies and educational programmes encourage the co-responsibility of men and women in the home, so that fathers and mothers are equally and more involved in their children’s lives.

Other conclusions of this study are:

1. Phubbing threatens our mental health and family well-being (See infographics | Read press release).
2. The work of the home is the new ally in achieving better levels of employee wellbeing (See infographics | Read press release).

Psychological empowerment, job satisfaction, greater professional commitment or job crafting are some of the benefits of having a positive attitude towards housework.

• Psychological empowerment predicts job innovation and satisfaction, as well as work-life balance, and the higher it is, the lower the emotional exhaustion
• Job satisfaction and work engagement respond to the desire to stay at work, so higher levels of job satisfaction lead to lower absenteeism, higher levels of job performance and lower intentions to leave the organization
• Job crafting predicts work meaningfulness and safety behaviours (in jobs that involve risks to oneself or others), and organisational commitment. Higher levels reduce risk of workaholism.

London, January 23, 2023. According to the first study carried out by IESE Business School’s International Center for Work and Family and the London-based international think tank, Home Renaissance Foundation, people who have a positive attitude towards housework have higher levels of employee wellbeing.

So what are all these terms and how do they relate to housework? Psychological empowerment, or in other words, a sense of self-control in relation to one’s own work and active engagement in one’s own role, is a skill that increases by 9% if one has a positive attitude towards housework. (See infographics).

Job satisfaction increases by 20% and Work engagement also increases by 26%, which means that the employee feels involved and an active part of his or her company, making it difficult to disengage and feeling that time passes quickly.

Job crafting, on the other hand, improves by 18%. Job crafting refers to proactive behaviour aimed at adapting work to one’s needs and preferences, rather than reactively performing work that the organisation has created.

ICWF/IESE and HRF,

– recommend that public campaigns encourage better attitudes towards housework, which in turn will increase well-being at work.

– encourage couples to share domestic responsibilities, not seeing housework as a duty, but as an opportunity to serve others and develop their own skills.

– suggest further training on planning and fulfilling household tasks as a means to improve individual and family well-being.

– And finally, we recommend that companies facilitate co-responsibility for their employees, as this will improve their well-being at work.

Other conclusions of this study are:

1. Phubbing threatens our mental health and family well-being (See infographics | Read press release).
2. A positive attitude towards housework has a positive influence on parents’ relationship with their children (See infographics | Read press release).

Almost 50% of the men surveyed are at risk of phubbing because they perceive that their employers expect them to be highly available for work at any time. For women it is 33%.

London, January 23, 2023. According to the first study by IESE Business School’s International Center for Work and Family and the London-based international think tank, Home Renaissance Foundation, mental health, self-esteem or well-being could be threatened by phubbing because parents perceive that they must be highly available for work at any time of the day.

What is phubbing? Ignoring others by being on your phone or electronic devices. A practice that not only does not serve as an example for children at home (lack of technological reference) but also causes social isolation and problems in relationships, since the times when phubbing occurs most often are at mealtimes or when they spend time together. Those who are neglected are at risk of feeling unimportant, excluded or rejected.

Phubbing is intensified in cases where the family lives under financial pressure, i.e., when the health of the household economy feels threatened. In such cases, parents’ neglect of their children is 70% higher for men and 50% higher for women. (See infographics).

This financial pressure also affects “technoference”, i.e., the number of times children interrupt their interaction with their parents to pay attention to different screens. The greater the financial pressure, the more children interrupt activities with their parents to turn to digital devices.

The health of family relationships is important for later performance in the workplace, so this study recommends:

– To companies: encourage their employees to disconnect from work to promote good use of technology at home and a healthy enjoyment of free time.

– To families: establish rules at home regarding the use of technology and encourage healthier communication between household members, especially when eating together, travelling or enjoying leisure time.

– And for schools: develop screen-free initiatives to raise awareness of the excessive use of technology and the benefits of interpersonal relationships not mediated by screens.

Other conclusions of this study are:

1. The work of the home is the new ally for achieving better levels of employee wellbeing (See infographics | Read the press release).
2. A positive attitude towards housework has a positive influence on parents’ relationship with their children (See infographics | Read the press release).