Working From Home and the Division of Housework and Childcare Among Dual Earner Couples During the Pandemic in the UK

Abstract

This paper examines how working from home influenced the division of childcare and housework among dual earning heterosexual couples with children in the UK during the first wave of the COVID-19 lockdown. We use unique data gathered during the peak of the UK lockdown (May-June), when many employees were required to work from home, to see whether fathers flexible working was associated with a more equitable division of housework and childcare. We found mothers were more likely to be the ones carrying out more if not all of five of the six categories of housework and care we examined – namely, cooking, cleaning, routine and non-routine childcare, and the education of children/home-schooling, both before and during the lockdown. This was not the case for the DIY tasks. A multivariate regression analysis showed that when fathers worked from home or using flexitime during the lockdown, a more equal division was found for tasks such as cleaning, routine childcare, and to some extent home schooling. Furthermore, fathers who worked flexibly were more likely to report that they had increased the amount of time they spent on housework and care. Mothers also reported that fathers who worked from home increased the time they spent on routine childcare. Overall, the study shows how flexible working, including working from home among men, especially done on a mass scale where there are no negative assumptions or stigma behind its use, may lead to a more equitable distribution of housework and childcare. Policy makers should encourage more men to work from home in order to support families and women’s labour market participation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transitions Into and Out of Work: Stay-at-Home Fathers’ Thoughts and Feelings: A Brief Report

“…Another social shift that will be pertinent for researchers to study over time is the increase in homeworking since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK, the national lockdowns significantly increased homeworking so that it became the norm for many couples and a UK-wide survey found that fathers perceived they benefitted from flexible working regarding being able to spend more time with their children (Chung et al, 2020). Chung et al (2020) suggested that this will have long-term implications for fathers and their desire to have a better balance between work and care.…”

“…In the UK, the national lockdowns significantly increased homeworking so that it became the norm for many couples and a UK-wide survey found that fathers perceived they benefitted from flexible working regarding being able to spend more time with their children (Chung et al, 2020). Chung et al (2020) suggested that this will have long-term implications for fathers and their desire to have a better balance between work and care. Hence, whether fathers are more involved parents because of becoming stay-at-home fathers or due to the dramatic changes in work in 2020, it is likely that we will continue to observe widespread patterns of gendered change in employment and childcare in the coming years.…”

Gendering boundary work: Experiences of work–family practices among Finnish working parents during COVID‐19 lockdown

“…Ultimately, they challenge the equal availability of paid work for mothers, who are expected to devote more time than fathers to housework and childcare. On the other hand, some studies (Carlson et al., 2020 ; Chung et al., 2020 ; Craig & Churchill, 2020 ; Yerkes, Andre, Besamusca, et al., 2020 ) have revealed that fathers have increased their share of childcare during lockdowns. Hence, at least in terms of dividing increased childcare responsibilities, the COVID‐19 pandemic might also have some positive consequences from the gender equality perspective.…”

Cost Implications from an Employer Perspective of a Workplace Intervention for Carer-Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Given that the COVID-19 virus impacted the elderly and immunocompromised most severely, the importance of caregiving was illuminated on a larger scale within mainstream media [ 38 , 39 ]. At the same time, the restructuring of work meant that employers and employees were questioning the dominant paradigm and the future of work [ 40 , 41 ]. In combination, the pandemic’s “silver lining” was that it facilitated discussions of workplace programs and policies to support CEs, who were being disproportionately burdened by the pandemic.…”