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household work strategy

Definition of Household Work Strategy

(noun) The division of labor among members of a household to complete work inside (e.g., childcare or laundry) and outside the home (e.g., wage labor) to provide goods and services necessary for its maintenance.

Etymology of Household Work Strategy

Household Work Strategy Audio Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: house·hold work strat·e·gy

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /hOUs-hohld wUHRk strAt-uh-jee/
  • British English – /hOUs-hohld wUHRk strAt-i-jee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈhaʊsˌhoʊld wɜrk ˈstrætəʤi/
  • British English – /ˈhaʊshəʊld wɜːk ˈstrætɪʤi/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: household work strategies
  • In a traditional view of a nuclear family in the United States, the man works outside the home to provide an income while maintaining the outside of the house. The woman is a stay-at-home mom and takes care of the inside of the residence. When children are old enough, the son helps with work outside and the daughter helps with housework.
  • Tasks completed inside a household to maintain a residence are called housework.
  • Household work strategies change over time as members grow older and leave or as economic conditions change.
  • In contrast to household work strategy, domestic labor refers to labor completed inside the home.
  • Household production refers to goods and services created by a household such as childcare, emotional support, and health care, that is then typically consumed by the household.

Additional Information

Related Terms


Cite the Definition of Household Work Strategy

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “household work strategy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/household-work-strategy/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

household work strategy. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/household-work-strategy/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “household work strategy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/household-work-strategy/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“household work strategy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/household-work-strategy/>.