Corona-Krise erschwert Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie vor allem für Mütter – Erwerbstätige Eltern sollten entlastet werden

Müller, Kai‐Uwe; Samtleben, Claire; Schmieder, Julia; Wrohlich, Katharina

doi:10.18723/diw_wb:2020-19-1

Cited by 8 publications

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“…Emerging stressors due to altered working conditions included being forced to work from home, the need to adapt to changes in working hours (e.g., working overtime or working short-time), financial strains, and insecurities regarding the future of one's employment [2][3][4]. Additionally, four million working parents were affected by the abrupt closure of childcare facilities in Germany [5]. Schools and day-care facilities were closed nationwide from March 2020 to May 2020, only offering emergency childcare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health of working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: can resilience buffer the impact of psychosocial work stress on depressive symptoms?

et al. 2022

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted working parents with an accumulation of stressors regarding changes in work, family, and social life, putting their mental health at risk. Stressors include altered working conditions such as working from home or changes in working hours as well as the difficulty to reconcile work and childcare due to the closure of childcare facilities. The present study examined the relationship of psychosocial work stress (i.e., work-privacy conflict and effort-reward imbalance at work) and depressive symptoms in working parents and whether this association was moderated by individual resilience. Methods Data of the present study (n = 452) were collected in Germany between May and June 2020 as part of the DREAMCORONA study. A subsample of working mothers (n = 191) and fathers (n = 261) completed the subscale for work-privacy conflict (WPC) of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Multiple linear regression analyses including moderation were performed, controlling for gender, working hours per week, and a lifetime history of depression as potential confounders. Results Both WPC (β = 0.336, p < .001) and ERI (β = 0.254, p < .001) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Resilience moderated the relationship between ERI and depressive symptoms (β = − 0.101, p = .018), indicating that higher resilience weakened the relationship. However, this effect was not found regarding the relationship between WPC and depressive symptoms (β = 0.055, p = .167). Conclusions The results highlight the need for measures to reduce psychosocial work stressors such as WPC and ERI during the COVID-19 pandemic on the one hand and to promote resilience on the other hand. The findings partially support the potential protective role of resilience buffering the association between psychosocial stress and mental health in working parents. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this effect.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health of working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: can resilience buffer the impact of psychosocial work stress on depressive symptoms?

et al. 2022

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“…Especially the lack of information on additional childcare possibilities during the pandemic is an important drawback of our research. However, as external childcare was restricted due to the closing of childcare facilities and informal childcare by family or friends outside the direct household context was also very limited to the rigorous contact restrictions, it seems most likely that additional childcare opportunities were only minorly important during the COVID-19 situation ( Collins et al, 2020 ; Kohlrausch and Zucco, 2020 ; Möhring et al, 2020 ; Müller et al, 2020 ; Zoch et al, 2021b ). Since the results clearly indicate that FWC has gained importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, future research should focus more on changes in the family and private life sphere to further explain differences in FWC experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This need to revise such strategies has affected not only individuals but also families and partnerships. In Germany, since the start of the pandemic, families with children seem to have been hit exceptionally hard as a result of measures designed to protect against COVID-19 infections ( Müller et al, 2020 ; Bujard et al, 2021 ). As early as March 2020, external childcare facilities were closed, and childcare support by family members (especially grandparents) or friends was limited owing to rigorous contact restrictions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As early as March 2020, external childcare facilities were closed, and childcare support by family members (especially grandparents) or friends was limited owing to rigorous contact restrictions. Most parents then had to compensate for this lack of childcare opportunities by caring for their children at home, with mothers taking on the bulk of additional care demands ( Collins et al, 2020 ; Kohlrausch and Zucco, 2020 ; Möhring et al, 2020 ; Müller et al, 2020 ; Zoch et al, 2021a ). Consequently, employed parents (particularly mothers) experience difficulties in their work-life integration, leading to decreased satisfaction in both spheres ( Zoch et al, 2021b ; Huebener et al, 2021 ; Möhring et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 and Work–Family Conflicts in Germany: Risks and Chances Across Gender and Parenthood

2022

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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected everyone’s daily life in one way or another, requiring a re-negotiation of existing strategies for work–life integration, not only for individuals but also within families and partnerships. To contribute to existing knowledge on work-life integration during COVID-19 in Germany, we look at gender and parenthood differences in the experiences of work-to-family (WFC) and family-to-work (FWC) conflicts. By accounting for employees’ previous conflict experiences, we were able to reveal the extent to which the current conditions contributed to differences in these conflicts. Moreover, we explored the relevance of demands and resources in the family and work spheres as a way to explain different levels of WFC and FWC across gender and parenthood. Our analyses are based on a sample of 660 employees from a German linked employer–employee panel study and a COVID-19 follow-up survey conducted in late 2020. Results revealed that work–family conflict experiences before the pandemic play an important role in current conflict perceptions. Whereas WFC were more likely to be accentuated during the pandemic, prior FWC experiences may have helped to mitigate conflicts under these new conditions. Work–family conflicts in general have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this finding applied only to conflicts in the family-to-work direction. Although such increases were not limited to parents, they were particularly high in this group. Overall, gender differences in work–family conflicts were absent, but differences were found between mothers and fathers. The need to compensate for a lack of external childcare, as well as having to work from home, increased FWC, especially among fathers. This study suggests that FWC in particular became more important during the pandemic; however, parents were not the only ones who were disadvantaged when it came to work–life integration; childless individuals likewise struggled to balance the demands of work and private life.

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“…Due to the school closings that began in March 2020, periodical distance teaching has partially replaced face-to-face teaching in Germany. The parents of approximately three million elementary-school pupils became “auxiliary teachers” overnight ( Müller, Samtleben, Schmieder, & Wrohlich, 2020 ). This situation caused a redefinition of the parental role in the teaching and learning process ( Voss & Wittwer, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Stress Provoked by Short-Term School Closures During the Second COVID-19 Lockdown

May

Awad

May

et al. 2021

Journal of Family Issues

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Governments of numerous countries implemented school closures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Several investigations have shown the negative impact of social-distancing policies and school closures on children worldwide. Recently, research also demonstrated adverse effects on adults’ well-being. The development of children is strongly affected by their parent’s emotional state. The present study aimed to examine parental stress levels caused by a short period of homeschooling in December 2020 in Germany. A structured survey was set up and distributed randomly via social media and parent associations. We observed a significant increase in stress and concerns. Family conflicts significantly increased, social isolation was feared, and powerlessness and helplessness ascended. Risk factors were parental education levels, parental working time, and teaching features like the frequency of feedback, correction, and accessibility.

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Corona-Krise erschwert Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie vor allem für Mütter – Erwerbstätige Eltern sollten entlastet werden

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Mental health of working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: can resilience buffer the impact of psychosocial work stress on depressive symptoms?

Mental health of working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: can resilience buffer the impact of psychosocial work stress on depressive symptoms?

COVID-19 and Work–Family Conflicts in Germany: Risks and Chances Across Gender and Parenthood

Parental Stress Provoked by Short-Term School Closures During the Second COVID-19 Lockdown

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