IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v45y2024i2p470-488.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The gendered effect of an overwork climate and high personal standards for work–home conflict during the pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • ArÅ«nas Žiedelis
  • Jurgita LazauskaitÄ—-ZabielskÄ—
  • Ieva UrbanaviÄ iÅ«tÄ—

Abstract

Although working from home and various other forms of flexible work are often presented as measures to strengthen work–life balance, research depicts a less optimistic picture. Previous research has shown that the impact of telework on work–home conflict is controversial, depending on various factors that are also frequently gender-specific. In this study, the authors evaluate and compare the effects of external expectations (i.e., an organizational overwork climate) and internal expectations (i.e., high personal standards) on changes in work–home conflict between working men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania. Both types of expectations were associated with difficulties reconciling work and private life. Due to their interactions with stereotypical gender roles, organizational expectations encouraging overtime work had a more pronounced effect on male employees. Results suggest that an overwork climate within organizations is a problem not only for employees’ well-being but also poses a risk to gender equality in work and private life.

Suggested Citation

  • ArÅ«nas Žiedelis & Jurgita LazauskaitÄ—-ZabielskÄ— & Ieva UrbanaviÄ iÅ«tÄ—, 2024. "The gendered effect of an overwork climate and high personal standards for work–home conflict during the pandemic," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(2), pages 470-488, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:470-488
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X231167497
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X231167497
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X231167497?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Katri Otonkorpi‐Lehtoranta & Milla Salin & Mia Hakovirta & Anniina Kaittila, 2022. "Gendering boundary work: Experiences of work–family practices among Finnish working parents during COVID‐19 lockdown," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 1952-1968, November.
    2. Heejung Chung & Mariska van der Horst, 2020. "Flexible Working and Unpaid Overtime in the UK: The Role of Gender, Parental and Occupational Status," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 495-520, September.
    3. Caitlyn Collins & Liana Christin Landivar & Leah Ruppanner & William J. Scarborough, 2021. "COVID‐19 and the gender gap in work hours," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S1), pages 101-112, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jacques Wels, & Booth, Charlotte & Wielgoszewska, Bożena & Green, Michael J. & Di Gessa, Giorgio & Huggins, Charlotte F. & Griffith, Gareth J. & Kwong, Alex S.F. & Bowyer, Ruth C.E. & Maddock, Jane & , 2022. "Mental and social wellbeing and the UK coronavirus job retention scheme: Evidence from nine longitudinal studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    2. Carolyn E. Waldrep & Marni Fritz & Jennifer Glass, 2024. "Preferences for Remote and Hybrid Work: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Eveliina Heino & Hanna Kara & Camilla Nordberg, 2024. "Changes in the Well-Being of Foreign Language Speaking Migrant Mothers Living in Finland during the Initial Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, January.
    4. Zuazu-Bermejo, Izaskun, 2022. "Robots and women in manufacturing employment," ifso working paper series 19, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Socioeconomics (ifso).
    5. Marie Boltz & Bart Cockx & Ana Maria Diaz & Luz Magdalena Salas, 2023. "How does working‐time flexibility affect workers' productivity in a routine job? Evidence from a field experiment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 159-187, March.
    6. Mars, Lidón & Arroyo, Rosa & Ruiz, Tomás, 2022. "Mobility and wellbeing during the covid-19 lockdown. Evidence from Spain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 107-129.
    7. Seulkee Heo & Pedro Diaz Peralta & Lan Jin & Claudia Ribeiro Pereira Nunes & Michelle L. Bell, 2022. "Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts on Work Hours and Career Satisfaction by Gender and Race among Scientists in the US: An Online Survey Study," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Charlotte K. Marx & Mareike Reimann & Martin Diewald, 2021. "Do Work–Life Measures Really Matter? The Impact of Flexible Working Hours and Home-Based Teleworking in Preventing Voluntary Employee Exits," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Ana Carolina OGANDO & Michael ROGAN & Rachel MOUSSIÉ, 2022. "Impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic and unpaid care work on informal workers' livelihoods," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 161(2), pages 171-194, June.
    10. María del Pilar Toyos, 2022. "Cierre de escuelas en pandemia y brechas de género en Argentina: ¿madres más vulnerables?," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4603, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    11. Amina Amari & Mohamed Mousa & Walid Chaouali & Zohra Ghali-Zinoubi & Narjess Aloui, 2023. "Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? Unpacking the Effects of Flexitime and Flexiplace: a Study on MENA Region," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1333-1352, December.
    12. Kwon, Eunrang & Yun, Jinhyuk & Kang, Jeong-han, 2023. "The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on gendered research productivity and its correlates," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1).
    13. Blázquez, Maite & Herrarte, Ainhoa & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2024. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened the gender gap in paid work hours in Spain?," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 313-348, June.
    14. Emma Brulin & Sofie Bjärntoft & Gunnar Bergström & David M. Hallman, 2023. "Gendered Associations of Flexible Work Arrangement and Perceived Flexibility with Work–Life Interference: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis on Office Workers in Sweden," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 571-588, June.
    15. Michelle Cera & Golda Kaplan & Kathleen Gerson & Barbara Risman, 2024. "A Case of Sticky Gender? Persistence and Change in the Division of Household Labor during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Sarah Thébaud & Charlotte Hoppen & Jennifer David & Eileen Boris, 2024. "Understanding Gender Disparities in Caregiving, Stress, and Perceptions of Institutional Support among Faculty during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, March.
    17. Didarul Islam & Mohammad Abdullah Al Faisal, 2024. "Variability in Aggregate Personal Income Across Industrial Sectors During COVID-19 Shock: A Time-Series Exploration," Papers 2403.20039, arXiv.org.
    18. Filippos Maraziotis, 2024. "Flexibility for equality: Examining the impact of flexible working time arrangements on women's convergence in working hours," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 410-445, June.
    19. Senhu Wang & Lambert Zixin Li & Zhuofei Lu & Shuanglong Li & David Rehkopf, 2022. "Work Schedule Control and Allostatic Load Biomarkers: Disparities Between and Within Gender," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1249-1267, October.
    20. Cecilia Obeng & Mary Slaughter & Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi, 2022. "Childcare Issues and the Pandemic: Working Women’s Experiences in the Face of COVID-19," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-11, July.

    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:sae:ecoind:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:470-488. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    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.