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Exploring the domestic division of labor when both parents are involuntarily working from home: The effects of the UK COVID pandemic

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  • Reece Garcia

Abstract

As part of the UK's response to the COVID pandemic many co‐habiting parents simultaneously began working from home, often involuntarily, potentially disrupting established divisions of domestic labor. Through 30 qualitative interviews with 15 heterosexual dual‐earning parents, this article explores the extent and nature of changes in respective labor allocations following the transition to home working. The data reveals that both women and men increased their time spent on domestic labor, though typically men's changes were insufficient to overturn pre‐existing unequal divisions, and women were more likely to reduce their employment hours to “better” balance caring and housework responsibilities. Men were also likely to see their increased domestic contributions as temporary during these exceptional circumstances with evidence of couples “doing” gender. Where partners did transition toward greater egalitarianism, men were actively taking ownership of new unpaid tasks and adapting their (gendered) familial identities as their work and family roles changed.

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  • Reece Garcia, 2022. "Exploring the domestic division of labor when both parents are involuntarily working from home: The effects of the UK COVID pandemic," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 1065-1081, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:4:p:1065-1081
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12796
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    1. 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.
    2. Sophie Hennekam & Yuliya Shymko, 2020. "Coping with the COVID‐19 crisis: force majeure and gender performativity," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 788-803, September.
    3. Dharma Raju Bathini & George Mathew Kandathil, 2019. "An Orchestrated Negotiated Exchange: Trading Home-Based Telework for Intensified Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 411-423, January.
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    1. Manwel Debono & Christine Garzia, 2023. "Trade Union Members’ Experiences and Attitudes towards Working from Home during the Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Myriam Chatot & Julie Landour & Ariane Pailhé & for the EpiCOV team, 2023. "Socioeconomic differences and the gender division of labor during the COVID‐19 lockdown: Insights from France using a mixed method," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1296-1316, July.

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