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Teleworking and life satisfaction during COVID-19: the importance of family structure

Author

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  • Claudia Senik

    (Sorbonne University, Paris School of Economics, and Institut Universitaire de France)

  • Andrew E. Clark

    (Paris School of Economics - CNRS)

  • Conchita D’Ambrosio

    (University of Luxembourg)

  • Anthony Lepinteur

    (University of Luxembourg)

  • Carsten Schröder

    (DIW Berlin)

Abstract

We carry out a difference-in-differences analysis of a real-time survey conducted as part of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) survey and show that teleworking had a negative average effect on life satisfaction over the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. This average effect hides considerable heterogeneity, reflecting gender-role asymmetries: lower life satisfaction is found only for unmarried men and for women with school-age children. The negative effect for women with school-age children disappears in 2021, suggesting adaptation to new constraints and/or the adoption of coping strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Senik & Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Anthony Lepinteur & Carsten Schröder, 2024. "Teleworking and life satisfaction during COVID-19: the importance of family structure," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:37:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-024-00979-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-024-00979-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Rodrigo Montero & Natalia Bernal, 2024. "Gender and Well-Being Disparities Among People who Work from Home in Chile," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon, 2025. "Remote work, wages, and hours worked in the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(1), pages 1-49, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Life satisfaction; Teleworking; Working from home; Gender; Childcare; COVID-19; SOEP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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