Working at Home, Caring at Home During the Pandemic

Abstract

Objective – This study examines how work-family-care disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic clustered and co-occurred for working parents and explores the impact on employee well-being. Method – We investigated profiles of parents' work-family-care disruption using latent class analysis; explored parent, work, family, and household patterning of classes; and examined associations with concurrent and subsequent employee well-being (occupational fatigue, time pressure, psychological distress). Results – Parents were classed as “low” (35.6%), “moderate” (58.1%), and “high” (6.3%) impact. Distinct parent, work, family, and household characteristics were associated with these classes. Parents moderately or highly impacted reported lower employee well-being concurrently and at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions – Findings highlight the impact of work-family-care disruption on employee well-being. Additional supports to working parents are needed in times of crisis, particularly for vulnerable parents and for working parents who experience increases in unpaid labor. Show more