When Work Moves Home: Fertility Responses to Working from Home in Europe

Beata Osiewalska , University of Warsaw (1); Cracow University of Economics (2)
Anna Matysiak, University of Warsaw

This study examines the role of working from home (WFH) in shaping fertility outcomes across Austria, France, and Poland. Technological change and broadband expansion have enabled more flexible and connected work arrangements, transforming traditional labor patterns and altering how individuals integrate professional and family life. While WFH can enhance flexibility and facilitate work–family reconciliation, it may also blur boundaries and intensify work demands, with ambiguous implications for fertility. Using longitudinal microdata from the Labour Force Survey (2006–2023), we estimate discrete-time complementary log–log hazard models of first and second birth transitions, distinguishing between onsite work, occasional and usual WFH, self-employment, and non-employment. The models control for demographic and labor market characteristics and account for gender and contract-type differences. Results reveal that the effects of WFH on fertility are highly context- and gender-specific. In France, WFH is positively associated with entry into parenthood, while in Austria the relationship is neutral, and in Poland it is negative—particularly when combined with temporary employment. For second births, WFH increases birth risks among mothers in France and Austria but not in Poland, and shows no significant effects for fathers. These findings highlight that flexibility operates as both a resource and a strain. Supportive family policies and secure employment can turn WFH into a facilitator of family formation, whereas their absence may transform it into a source of constraint and inequality.

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 Presented in Session 7. Fertility and Work Conditions