Jeremy W. Lim-Soh, Poh Lin Tan
Feb 24, 2021
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Quality indicators
Journal
SociologyRN: Gender & Work (Topic)
Abstract
The large-scale move towards working from home caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may help to resolve longstanding work-life conflicts and improve relationships between family members, especially for working mothers. On the other hand, income loss due to economic disruptions may cause stress and negatively affect spousal and parent-child relationships. This paper tests these hypotheses using longitudinal data on 341 heterosexual married couples with children aged below 18 in Singapore, one of the first countries hit by the pandemic. The dataset consists of three waves: a baseline survey in April-June 2018 and two follow-up waves during and shortly after the lockdown in May and June 2020 respectively. Results suggest that neither hypothesis is supported. Married women were significantly more likely to report worsened spousal relationships if they were working from home during the pandemic, but more likely to report improved relationships if husbands were working from home. Neither parent’s work from home status was significantly associated with changes in mother-child relationships. Women’s income loss was associated with improved rather than worsened relationships with their children. Regressions stratified by age of oldest child suggest that maternal relationships with young children were more sensitive to the effects of mothers working from home, while relationships with older children were more sensitive to income loss. Overall, the results point to tensions between mothers’ roles at home and in the workplace, with working mothers shouldering a greater proportion of care burdens when working from home.