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

Author

Listed:
  • 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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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sarah Fleche & Anthony Lepinteur & Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2018. "Gender Norms and Relative Working Hours: Why Do Women Suffer More Than Men from Working Longer Hours Than Their Partners?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 163-168, May.
    2. Barrero, Jose Maria & Bloom, Nick & Davis, Steven J., 2020. "Why Working From Home Will Stick," SocArXiv wfdbe, Center for Open Science.
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    4. Alexandre Mas & Amanda Pallais, 2017. "Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3722-3759, December.
    5. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    6. Zhiming Cheng & Silvia Mendolia & Alfredo R. Paloyo & David A. Savage & Massimiliano Tani, 2021. "Working parents, financial insecurity, and childcare: mental health in the time of COVID-19 in the UK," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 123-144, March.
    7. Richard J. Petts & Daniel L. Carlson & Joanna R. Pepin, 2021. "A gendered pandemic: Childcare, homeschooling, and parents' employment during COVID‐19," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S2), pages 515-534, July.
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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.

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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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