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The Role of Working-From-Home for Maternal Employment Re-Entry after Childbirth

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Matysiak

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw)

  • Beata Osiewalska

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw)

  • Anna Kurowska

    (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw)

Abstract

This study investigates how work-from-home (WFH) —by mothers and their male partners—shapes maternal employment re-entry after childbirth. Drawing on Conservation of Resources and Boundary Management theories, the study distinguishes between WFH access and regular use. It hypothesizes that regular WFH use by mothers and their partners supports earlier and full-time maternal return to paid work, particularly among second-time mothers. The UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2019) is used to estimate discrete-time hazard models of return to paid work after first and second births, distinguishing between full-time and part-time re-entry. Among first-time mothers, both WFH access and regular use are associated with a greater likelihood of full-time re-entry, though not with overall return. Among second-time mothers, regular pre-birth WFH use significantly increases the likelihood of returning to paid work—regardless of hours—whereas access alone does not. No significant associations are found between male partners’ WFH and maternal employment outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Matysiak & Beata Osiewalska & Anna Kurowska, 2025. "The Role of Working-From-Home for Maternal Employment Re-Entry after Childbirth," Working Papers 2025-18, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    • Handle: RePEc:war:wpaper:2025-18
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    File URL: https://www.wne.uw.edu.pl/download_file/6096/0
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 53(2 (Fall)), pages 281-360.
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    4. Chinhui Juhn & Kristin McCue, 2017. "Specialization Then and Now: Marriage, Children, and the Gender Earnings Gap across Cohorts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 183-204, Winter.
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    6. Anne McMunn & Lauren Bird & Elizabeth Webb & Amanda Sacker, 2020. "Gender Divisions of Paid and Unpaid Work in Contemporary UK Couples," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(2), pages 155-173, April.
    7. repec:osf:socarx:q4dyg_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Anna Kurowska, 2020. "Gendered Effects of Home-Based Work on Parents’ Capability to Balance Work with Non-work: Two Countries with Different Models of Division of Labour Compared," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 405-425, September.
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    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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