Men do almost twice the amount of housework after they retire - but they are still doing far less than their wives, according to new research. The study of 1,302 German couples found working men did just two hours of house work each day, which almost doubled to 3.9 hours when they retired. But they are still lagging behind their stay-at-home female partners when it comes to sharing the burden. Division of labour: Men do just two hours of housework a day while working, which increases to 3.9 after they retire - but it is still far less than the amount carried out by their stay-at-home wives . The study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found women who did not work did an average of 6.8 hours before their husband's retired. Chores included doing the laundry and the washing up, as well as running errands, according to New York Magazine. However, the number of hours they did each day only dropped to 6.1 after their husbands retired. What's more, it seems the men were still avoiding the washing up, even post-retirement. The research noted the increase in the men's hours was mainly taken up by more 'manly' chores - like repairs and gardening. However, the study - conducted by Thomas Leopold at the University of Amsterdam and Jan Skopek at the European University Institute - does not reveal how the burden was shared when both the husband and wife were working. Manly: The men were also less likely to do the 'female' chores, sticking to gardening and repairs .
Study of 1,302 couples found working men do two hours of chores a day . But once they retired, men upped their housework hours to to 3.9 a day . Women's chores went from 6.8 hours a day to 6.1 a day after retirement . The study, carried out in Germany, .