Many employers introduced or expanded working from home (WFH) in response to increasing infection rates after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether WFH enhances or depletes parents’ resources for their children is still an open question. Drawing on contextual models of parenting and demands-resources approaches, we examine how WFH during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to changes in responsive and harsh parenting, particularly in light of pandemic-related increases in work-to-family conflicts (WFC). We further investigate gender differences in these associations. Our analyses draw on a sample of working parents from a large-scale German family survey conducted in 2019 and a COVID-19 follow-up from 2020. Results from first difference regression models in combination with Heckman's sample selection method revealed strongly gendered patterns of changes in parenting. Specifically, responsive parenting decreased and harsh parenting increased only among mothers who did not work from home. In addition, WFH buffered increased spillovers from WFC on declines in responsive parenting among mothers. In contrast, fathers’ parenting remained largely unaffected by pandemic-related changes in their work situation. We conclude that WFH can be a resource gain because it seems to have relieved some pandemic-related parenting strain for mothers. Yet as a consequence, it may have reinforced gendered patterns of childcare. We discuss implications for policymakers and support services for families. We also place a special emphasis on those who are not able to work from home because this seems to have increased the risk that high work demands impaired their parenting during the early stages of the pandemic.

中文翻译：

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在家工作和养育子女：研究 COVID-19 大流行期间工作与家庭冲突和性别的作用

为了应对 COVID-19 大流行爆发后感染率不断上升的情况，许多雇主引入或扩大了在家工作 (WFH) 的范围。在家办公是否会增加或消耗父母为孩子提供的资源仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。借鉴养育方式和需求资源方法的背景模型，我们研究了 COVID-19 大流行早期阶段的在家办公如何与响应性和严厉养育方式的变化联系起来，特别是考虑到与大流行相关的工作与家庭的增加冲突（WFC）。我们进一步调查这些协会中的性别差异。我们的分析借鉴了 2019 年进行的大规模德国家庭调查和 2020 年 COVID-19 后续调查中的工作父母样本。一阶差分回归模型与赫克曼样本选择方法相结合的结果揭示了养育方式变化的强烈性别模式。具体而言，仅在不在家工作的母亲中，回应性养育方式减少，严厉养育方式增加。此外，WFH 缓冲了 WFC 因母亲响应性养育能力下降而增加的溢出效应。相比之下，父亲的养育方式在很大程度上没有受到与大流行相关的工作状况变化的影响。我们的结论是，在家办公可以成为一种资源增益，因为它似乎缓解了母亲们因大流行而承受的一些养育压力。然而，其结果可能强化了儿童保育的性别模式。我们讨论对政策制定者的影响以及对家庭的支持服务。