Forty percent of US parents who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic report experiencing more parenting stress, compared with 27% of those who worked onsite, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Network Open.
Northwestern University researchers surveyed 825 employed parents from all 77 neighborhoods in Chicago from May to July 2022 about their work situation in the first 2 years of the pandemic. Respondents were adult parents of at least one child living at home. Of the parents, 62.5% worked from home, and 52.5% were women.
The study period included 13 months of remote instruction in Chicago schools, forcing many parents to manage work and schooling at home, the authors noted.
"The COVID-19 pandemic changed work arrangements with more frequent work from home, or telework," they wrote. "Parents are a unique subset of employees, yet little is known about how telework is related to the health of working parents."
Remote-working dads more stressed than moms
A higher percentage of remote-working parents were White (45.0%) than Black (14.6%) or Hispanic (28.5%), and a higher proportion of parents who worked onsite were Black (26.0%) or Hispanic (41.9%) than White (23.8%).
After adjustment, teleworking parents had greater odds of parenting stress than those who worked onsite (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.88)—especially among fathers (aOR, 2.33 vs 1.53 for mothers), but there was no difference in respondents' general health status (aOR, 1.23) or improved mental health (aOR, 1.14).
Strategies to support parents who telework, such as promoting work schedule autonomy and employee assistance programs, may have important health implications for parents and children.
"For parents, especially fathers, telework during the COVID-19 pandemic offered a new opportunity to spend time with their children," the researchers wrote. "Our findings suggest teleworking may also add to parenting stress or that parents with more stressful parenting situations preferentially select telework arrangements."
The researchers noted that legislation has been proposed to both expand and limit remote work options. "Therefore, it is crucial that researchers, health professionals, and policymakers continue to assess the associations among telework, parenting stress, and parent health," they said.
"Strategies to support parents who telework, such as promoting work schedule autonomy and employee assistance programs, may have important health implications for parents and children."
