The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped work arrangements, prompting widespread adoption of working from home (WFH) and raising questions about its implications for gendered labour. Using Australian panel data and fixed-effects models, this study investigates how WFH shapes time allocations to paid and domestic work among dual-earner households. We examine differential effects by gender, WFH intensity, and children’s age. Findings indicate a postpandemic rise in WFH prevalence and intensity, accompanied by divergent gendered patterns of labour time. Under high-intensity WFH, women particularly mothers of older children, expanded their paid work, while men, especially fathers of young children, substantially increased domestic work. Low-intensity WFH primarily supports additional paid work for both women and men. Overall, the results reveal that WFH does not consistently reinforce or challenge traditional gender patterns; rather, its effects are contingent on intensity and family context, producing both opportunities for and constraints on gender equality in the organisation of work

Craig, Lyn; Mooi-Reci, Irma; Zilio, Federico

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped work arrangements, prompting widespread adoption of working from home (WFH) and raising questions about its implications for gendered labour. Using Australian panel data and fixed-effects models, this study investigates how WFH shapes time allocations to paid and domestic work among dual-earner households. We examine differential effects by gender, WFH intensity, and children’s age. Findings indicate a postpandemic rise in WFH prevalence and intensity, accompanied by divergent gendered patterns of labour time. Under high-intensity WFH, women particularly mothers of older children, expanded their paid work, while men, especially fathers of young children, substantially increased domestic work. Low-intensity WFH primarily supports additional paid work for both women and men. Overall, the results reveal that WFH does not consistently reinforce or challenge traditional gender patterns; rather, its effects are contingent on intensity and family context, producing both opportunities for and constraints on gender equality in the organisation of work

Lyn Craig, Irma Mooi-Reci and Federico Zilio
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Lyn Craig: School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne,, https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/797835-lyn-craig
Irma Mooi-Reci: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
Federico Zilio: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Keywords: Work from home; Gendered paid and unpaid work; COVID-19 pandemic; Time use; Flexible work arrangements. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46pp
Date: 2026-08
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