IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurpop/v39y2023i1d10.1007_s10680-023-09678-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Working from Home During Covid-19 Pandemic and Changes to Fertility Intentions Among Parents

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Kurowska

    (University of Warsaw
    University of Warsaw)

  • Anna Matysiak

    (University of Warsaw)

  • Beata Osiewalska

    (Cracow University of Economics
    University of Warsaw)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and related massive spread of home based work led to substantial changes in the conditions for combining work and childbearing. On the one hand, working from home helped parents to accommodate increased childcare needs during the pandemic. On the other hand, it led to acute experiences of blurred boundaries between work and family life during childcare and school closures. Therefore, the direction of the impact of working from home on fertility intentions during the pandemic is not unequivocal. In this paper, we investigate how working from home was related to change in fertility intentions of mothers and fathers during the pandemic and discuss the complex mechanisms behind these relationships. With the use of unique Familydemic Survey data from a representative sample of parents in Poland, we estimate multinomial logit regressions by gender and consider a set of potential moderators, including financial well-being, gender relations, and occupational characteristics. We find evidence for an overall negative relationship between home based work and fertility intentions for mothers, but we also uncover some positive moderating effects. In particular, we shed light on the unobvious moderating role of gendered division of unpaid labor from before the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Kurowska & Anna Matysiak & Beata Osiewalska, 2023. "Working from Home During Covid-19 Pandemic and Changes to Fertility Intentions Among Parents," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-31, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:39:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10680-023-09678-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-023-09678-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10680-023-09678-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10680-023-09678-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arnstein Aassve & Nicolò Cavalli & Letizia Mencarini & Samuel Plach & Seth Sanders, 2021. "Early assessment of the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and births in high-income countries," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118(36), pages 2105709118-, September.
    2. Raffaele Guetto & Giacomo Bazzani & Daniele Vignoli, 2020. "Narratives of the future shape fertility in uncertain times. Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2020_11, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    3. Agar Brugiavini & Raluca E. Buia & Irene Simonetti, 2022. "Occupation and working outcomes during the Coronavirus Pandemic," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 863-882, December.
    4. repec:iab:iabjlr:v:55:i::p:art.4 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Holgersen, Henning & Jia, Zhiyang & Svenkerud, Simen, 2021. "Who and how many can work from home? Evidence from task descriptions," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 55, pages 1-4.
    6. Almudena Sevilla & Sarah Smith, 2020. "Baby steps: the gender division of childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 169-186.
    7. Kouki, Amairisa & Sauer, Robert M., 2020. "Child Health, Remote Work and the Female Wage Penalty," IZA Discussion Papers 13648, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Wilde, Joshua & Chen, Wei & Lohmann, Sophie, 2020. "COVID-19 and the Future of US Fertility: What Can We Learn from Google?," SocArXiv 2bgqs, Center for Open Science.
    9. Karina Shreffler & David Johnson, 2013. "Fertility Intentions, Career Considerations and Subsequent Births: The Moderating Effects of Women’s Work Hours," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 285-295, September.
    10. Francesca Luppi & Bruno Arpino & Alessandro Rosina, 2020. "The impact of COVID-19 on fertility plans in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(47), pages 1399-1412.
    11. Henning Holgersen & Zhiyang Jia & Simen Svenkerud, 2020. "Who and how many can work from home in Norway?. Evidence from task descriptions," Discussion Papers 935, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    12. Holgersen, Henning & Jia, Zhiyang & Svenkerud, Simen, 2021. "Who and how many can work from home? Evidence from task descriptions," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 55(55), pages 1-.4.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Sven Fischer, 2023. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Marriage and Childbirth: Survey-based Evidence from Iran," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202320, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emil Mihaylov, 2022. "Working from Home in the Netherlands: Looking Inside the Blackbox of Work and Occupations," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-096/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Arpino, Bruno & LUPPI, FRANCESCA & Rosina, Alessandro, 2021. "Changes in fertility plans during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: the role of occupation and income vulnerability," SocArXiv 4sjvm, Center for Open Science.
    3. Isaure Delaporte & Julia Escobar & Werner Peña, 2021. "The distributional consequences of social distancing on poverty and labour income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1385-1443, October.
    4. Mooi-Reci, Irma & Trinh, Trong-Anh & Vera-Toscano, Esperanza & Wooden, Mark, 2023. "The impact of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility intentions," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    5. Ishii, Kayoko & Yamamoto, Isamu & Nakayama, Mao, 2023. "Potential benefits and determinants of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Japanese Household Panel Data," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Doepke, Matthias & Hannusch, Anne & Kindermann, Fabian & Tertilt, Michèle, 2022. "The Economics of Fertility: A New Era," IZA Discussion Papers 15224, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Ourania Tzoraki & Svetlana Dimitrova & Marin Barzakov & Saad Yaseen & Vasilis Gavalas & Hani Harb & Abas Haidari & Brian P. Cahill & Alexandra Ćulibrk & Ekaterini Nikolarea & Eleni Andrianopulu & Miro, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Conditions, Employment, Career Development and Well-Being of Refugee Researchers," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, July.
    8. Emery, Tom & Koops, Judith C., 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Fertility behaviour and Intentions in the Republic of Moldova," SocArXiv fcqd9, Center for Open Science.
    9. Masayuki Morikawa, 2023. "Productivity dynamics of remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 317-331, July.
    10. Astorquiza-Bustos, Bilver Adrian & Quintero-Peña, Jose Wilmar, 2023. "Who can work from home? A remote working index for an emerging economy," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    11. Mauro Caselli & Andrea Fracasso & Sergio Scicchitano, 2022. "From the lockdown to the new normal: individual mobility and local labor market characteristics following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1517-1550, October.
    12. Marko Radovan, 2024. "Workplace Flexibility and Participation in Adult Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-13, July.
    13. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Falck, Oliver & Schüller, Simone, 2023. "Germany’s capacity to work from home," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    14. Luca Maria Pesando & Alejandra Abufhele, 2022. "Declining Quantity and Quality of Births in Chile Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic," Working Papers 20220081, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Nov 2022.
    15. Arpino, Bruno & LUPPI, FRANCESCA & Rosina, Alessandro, 2021. "Regional trends in births during the COVID-19 crisis in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain," SocArXiv mnwh8, Center for Open Science.
    16. Ainaa, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Who lost the most? Distributive effects of COVID-19 pandemic," GLO Discussion Paper Series 829, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. Singh, Parvati & Gemmill, Alison & Bruckner, Tim-Allen, 2023. "Casino-based cash transfers and fertility among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina: A time-series analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    18. Caselli, Mauro & Fracasso, Andrea & Traverso, Silvio, 2021. "Robots and risk of COVID-19 workplace contagion: Evidence from Italy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    19. Lawrence M Berger & Giulia Ferrari & Marion Leturcq & Lidia Panico & Anne Solaz, 2021. "COVID-19 lockdowns and demographically-relevant Google Trends: A cross-national analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-28, March.
    20. Katherine Pawluk De-Toledo & Steve O’Hern & Sjaan Koppel, 2024. "A social-ecological model of working from home during COVID-19," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1181-1208, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fertility intentions; Childbearing decisions; Covid-19 pandemic; Coronavirus pandemic; Working from home; Telecommuting; Telework; Home based work; Work-family reconciliation; Work-family conflict; Parents; Gender relations; Division of unpaid work;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:39:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10680-023-09678-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.