What happens to individuals’ average hours of work is not the same as what happens to households. As Jacobs and Gerson(2004) have pointed out, discussions about average working hours hides a large redistribution of paid work between the sexes (see also Epstein and Kalleberg 2004). While the contribution of prime-age men has significantly declined, the hours that prime-age woman contribute to the labour market have significantly increased. It is as if much of the paid work has been transferred from men to woman. The resulting two-income households are supplying more working hours to the labour market than ever before. Time pressure is especially strong in families with children, where both husband and wife are in full-time employment. The perception that life has become more rushed is due to the increases in the combined work commitments. It is not due to the changes in the working time of individual workers. This change in family roles and gender relations over the last few decades is the key to explaining the shortage of family time.