Men in the Netherlands have more free time than women and are better able to shut out their work and care duties when they relax, according to new research by the government’s socio-cultural policy unit SCP.

By contrast, women spend more of their free time involved in care duties and working and are less able than men to relax, the SCP said.

The survey also shows that so many Dutch women choose to work part-time in order to have more time for other duties, rather than a lack of interest in a career.

‘Women have, and feel themselves to have, more to do than men. They don’t have the same sort of quality time off and one of the reasons for this is the “emotional” work which they do,’ said researcher Wil Portegijs. Emotional work includes making sure their partners and children are happy, she said.

Education minister Jet Bussemaker said in a reaction to the findings that it is a waste of talent for women to work part-time for strategic reasons. ‘Employers and men should work together to make it easier for women to break through this pattern of working part-time.’

‘Half of the women in the Netherlands are not financially independent and rely on someone else,’ she said.

The research shows that one in five men would like to work less and there lies the key, the minister said. Men should be tough enough to talk about reducing their hours at work and women should also make their boundaries clear and let things go from time to time, she said.