Time for what and why? Civic education in the everyday life of Swedish families outsourcing domestic work
Author(s): Ulrika Widding, Ann-Louise Silfver
Wednesday 14 | 15:40-16:00
Room: TP54
Session: Outsourcing household work across Europe: effects from a social and gender-equality perspective
Daily household chores in the family are often considered tedious. Involving children in these tasks can however be viewed as a means of socializing them to develop self-esteem, a work ethic, and a sense of responsibility toward others. Scholars have highlighted children’s participation in domestic work as a family practice where children are being prepared for adulthood according to central cultural ideals, such as responsibility, independence, equality, and equity (Klein et al, 2009; Ambjörnsson, 2018). In this paper, we understand such un-/intentional socialisation processes within everyday family practices to be a form of civic education (Dahlstedt & Olson, 2013).
In recent years, families globally, including in Sweden, have faced constant time pressures (Gauthier, Smeeding, & Furstenberg Jr, 2004). As one solution to this, Swedish families have had the option, since 2007, to outsource domestic work through a tax deduction reform (SFS 2007:346), covering services like cleaning and laundry (Skatteverket n.d.). The popularity of this so-called RUT-reform has surged, with over 1.2 million deduction applicants in 2022 (Skatteverket, 2023).
This study explores everyday life in Swedish families outsourcing domestic services. Data includes narratives from 12 Swedish women in families regularly using domestic services. The analysis focuses on how these women interpret the meaning of daily family life and domestic work using discursive resources (Wetherell, 2005) and how they navigate conflicting norms and discourses (Potter, Edwards, & Wetherell, 1993) related to family life and outsourcing. The concept of civic education is used to discuss socialisation processes and the implicit and explicit cultural conceptions of the good citizen (Dahlstedt & Olson, 2013).
Results reveal that 'quality time' is perceived as an unquestionable ideal, emphasizing fun/restful family activities from the child's perspective. However, the reality of balancing (often more than) full-time work and children's activities often leaves limited time and energy for domestic work. Outsourcing domestic tasks is seen as a solution to this dilemma, leading to a negotiation of conflicting discourses—one portraying it as problematic, while the other normalizes it as providing job opportunities and supporting the service sector development. Some women problematize the impact of outsourcing domestic work on their children's socialization. Some envision gender equality and individual choice as key values for their children as adults, where outsourcing is a part of achieving this. The results thus point to how new ways of doing everyday family life also reshape the learning taking place in everyday family life.