The Role of Working-From-Home for Maternal Employment Re-Entry after Childbirth

Anna Matysiak (), Beata Osiewalska and Anna Kurowska
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Anna Matysiak: Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw
Beata Osiewalska: Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw
Anna Kurowska: Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw

No 2025-18, Working Papers from Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw

Abstract: This study investigates how work-from-home (WFH) —by mothers and their male partners—shapes maternal employment re-entry after childbirth. Drawing on Conservation of Resources and Boundary Management theories, the study distinguishes between WFH access and regular use. It hypothesizes that regular WFH use by mothers and their partners supports earlier and full-time maternal return to paid work, particularly among second-time mothers. The UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2019) is used to estimate discrete-time hazard models of return to paid work after first and second births, distinguishing between full-time and part-time re-entry. Among first-time mothers, both WFH access and regular use are associated with a greater likelihood of full-time re-entry, though not with overall return. Among second-time mothers, regular pre-birth WFH use significantly increases the likelihood of returning to paid work—regardless of hours—whereas access alone does not. No significant associations are found between male partners’ WFH and maternal employment outcomes.

Keywords: childbirth; flexibility; remote work; return to work; telework; work from home; United Kingdom (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J10 J11 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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https://www.wne.uw.edu.pl/download_file/6096/0 First version, 2025 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:war:wpaper:2025-18

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