If you look at the time usage logs of the parents, the working time of mothers is unclean, especially during a pandemic. But fathers are relatively protected because of their role. And the kids won’t expect a dad when working from home, on the contrary they expect mom to be the mother first. This is why employers will stigmatize mothers who do housework, and they may not be for fathers.
I can imagine a progressive woman reading this book and thinking, “That’s not how it happens in my house. I am the breadwinner of the family, and my husband does the laundry. In what ways could she still be affected by the gender flexibility paradox?
Obviously, there are some variations. But perhaps you will find that women, when allowed flexibility, will try to do as much housework and childcare, and participate in as many activities as possible, while fathers do not, or reason that their master won’t let them. Many employers won’t allow mothers to do that either. But mothers have no choice, so they either do it behind their bosses’ backs or they have to change jobs or quit the job market altogether.
You write that flexible work frees up “free mothers’ labor” and “reduces governments’ need for social response”. Is flexible work a consolation prize for working mothers who are demanding more government support?
It is not a consolation prize, on its own. But if you really want to push more women into the job market, you need to liberate them because there are only 24 hours in a day. In Sweden and Denmark, children as young as 1 have access to affordable, high-quality daycare. But childcare in the US and UK is very expensive. If you give women the opportunity to work from home as well as flexible hours, we’ve found that mothers can maintain their position in the labor market after giving birth, and if you don’t give them that, about half of mothers will drop out of school, especially if they do not have cheap, high-quality child care.
Is there a country you think is a model for a healthy approach to flexible work?
In the Nordic countries, where gender equality norms and work-life balance norms are more common and family-friendly benefits are seen as the norm, you don’t see the paradox. about flexibility or the stigma about flexibility much. Workers have strong bargaining power and a very secure social safety net that will provide up to 80% of your income when you’re unemployed. These are the contexts that help shape people’s attitudes towards the focus of the work.
You write about flexible work that not only leads to overtime, but also blurs the lines between work and life, which can lead to what you call cognitive spillover, where people Constantly thinking about work. What are some beginner laws addressing this issue?
I think disconnect permission is really important. This is not necessarily just about managers. If people reply to emails right before bed or right after they wake up, people will start to unconsciously act on that kind of always-on, always-available culture. The right to disconnect keeps workers from being exploited by employers, but it also helps prevent that culture from flourishing.
Another thing is to protect only workers in general. One reason we worry about work is high levels of insecurity and a lack of bargaining power. The European Commission has introduced a series of policies to prevent discrimination against those with flexible work arrangements for the needs of their parents. But there are also general protections, like ensuring that workers are safe through better collective bargaining protections and better legal protections on job security.
You can’t give much advice on self-help, as there are many books on the subject. But is there a tip you picked that worked especially for you?
