2022

Jiweon JUN, Seung-Eun CHA, Ki-Soo EUN

Citation: Jun, Jiweon, Cha, Seung-Eun, & Eun, Ki-Soo (2022). The Impact of Working from Home on Parents’ Work-Family Balance during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea. Korea Journal of Population Studies, 45(3), 27-50, 10.31693/KJPS.2022.09.45.3.2

DOI: 10.31693/KJPS.2022.09.45.3.2
Language: Korean 
Publisher: POPULATION ASSOCIATION OF KOREA

Publishing Date: 2022. 09.

Abstract 

This study investigated whether working-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to lessening the work-family conflict of parents with small children. In Korea, during the pandemic, most business remained open while schools and daycare centers were closed, imposing great challenges for parents to manage work and care for child(ren). We conducted an online survey in 2021 and collected detailed information on the experience of parents of child(ren) aged 0-12 during the social distancing measures. We analysed the impact of working-from-home on work-family balance of employed parents. In particular, we explored whether the impact differed by gender. We found working-from-home reduced work-family conflict for fathers, while no significant relationship was found for mothers. Our result implies that while working-from-home can promote work-family balance, to make this work, the expectations about caregiving and the share of care responsibilities must be considered.

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