vardagen

Vardagen is a Swedish term that translates roughly to “the everyday life” or “daily life.” In sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies, the concept refers to the routines, practices, and social interactions that compose ordinary days. It encompasses work and domestic labor, caregiving, commuting, shopping, cooking, leisure, and consumption, as well as the social norms and structures that organize them. Researchers study vardagen to understand how gender, class, age, ethnicity, and welfare policies shape daily life, and how individuals negotiate time, routines, and identities within these constraints.

Common themes in vardagen research include time use and scheduling, the division of household labor, parenting and caregiving practices, material culture (how objects organize daily routines), and the social significance of mundane activities like meals, commutes, and digital media use. Methodologically, studies often employ time-use diaries, ethnography, surveys, and interviews to capture routines and their meanings.

In Sweden, vardagen is frequently linked to welfare-state arrangements, work–life balance, parental leave, and daycare systems, which influence typical daily patterns. Cross-cultural comparisons show variation in the structure of the day, the degree of institutional support, and how families coordinate school, work, and care. Vardagen is valued as a lens to examine social order, reproduction, and identity in everyday life, rather than focusing solely on extraordinary events.