Flexible working time arrangements and work-life conflict : The role of gender and housework

Abstract

Objective: This paper studies how the relationship between flexible working time arrangements and self-reported work-to-life and life-to-work conflict is moderated by an (un)equal domestic labor distribution within heterosexual couples.

Background: Flexible working arrangements can give employees more autonomy in balancing paid employment with private life. However, studies have shown that this flexibility is used in gender-specific ways: while women devote more time to household chores, men increase their paid working hours. This article builds on these findings by exploring how the heterogeneity in the division of domestic labor within couples moderates the relationship between flexible working time arrangements and work–life conflict.

Method: Analyses are based on the German Family Panel (pairfam), Wave 12 (2019-2020) and include 2,032 partnered working individuals (1,162 women and 870 men). We applied linear regression models.

Results: Company-defined and autonomous work schedules were associated with a greater work-to-life conflict, especially for men, while women with complete control over their schedule experienced less conflict. The level of life-to-work conflict was similar across different schedules, except for women with flexitime, who reported higher conflict. Housework responsibilities also played a role, as women handling most household tasks faced greater life-to-work conflict with flexible schedules, and men with company-defined schedules experienced higher conflict in both directions when they shared housework equally with their partner.

Conclusion: Access to flexible working time arrangements alone may not reduce work-to-life and life-to-work conflict, as the impact depends on both gender and how housework is divided within a couple.