Work Flexibility and Gender Inequality in Paid and Unpaid Labor: Evidence from European Time Use Surveys

Marco Santacroce , Vienna Institute of Demography

The availability of flexible work arrangements has increased dramatically in recent years, driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, which rapidly transformed workplace structures and accelerated the adoption of flexible working practices that had previously stagnated. As flexibility becomes a lasting feature of European labor markets, questions arise about how these organizational changes affect gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work. Despite the widespread adoption of flexwork, little is known about its social and gendered consequences in contemporary Europe. Using data from the third round of the Harmonized European Time Use Survey (HETUS), this study examines how the use of flexible working (particularly remote work and schedule control) relates to gender (in)equality in the division of labor among couples. Specifically, it analyzes gender differences in the relationship between flexible work arrangements and (1) total time devoted to housework and childcare, (2) specific domestic activities (e.g., cleaning, cooking, shopping), (3) the frequency and nature of family-related interruptions during paid work at home, and (4) couple-level differences in daily routines when both partners work from home. The data further allow for the examination of heterogeneities by socioeconomic status (SES) and national context. While results are forthcoming, it is expected that flexible work both mitigates and amplifies gender inequalities depending on parental status (i.e., childless or not), parental educational attainment, occupational characteristics, and cultural context. This research offers timely insights into how flexible work arrangements are reshaping family life and the gendered organization of paid and unpaid labor in contemporary Europe.

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 Presented in Session 32. Flash Session Gender, Work and Labour Market