The flexibility paradox and spatial‐temporal dimensions of COVID‐19 remote work adaptation among dual‐earner mothers and fathers

Abstract

There is an increased blurring of work and home life in contemporary society due to access to technology and the mass expansion of remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Flexible working arrangements like remote work can lead to men self‐exploiting themselves in the workplace and women self‐exploiting themselves in the domestic sphere in the context of a work‐centric society that is reliant upon passion at work and traditional gender norms. This study extends Chung's ideas on gendered patterns in the flexibility paradox by examining spatial‐temporal dimensions of COVID‐19 remote work adaptation among an extreme sample: dual‐earner parents with young children. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted on Zoom with 20 mothers and 17 fathers working from home in the U.S. with children ages 5 and under between the summer of 2020 and the spring of 2021. Findings indicate that fathers' work is prioritized in spatio‐temporal terms whereas mothers' work is fragmented and dispersed. Gendered patterns in the flexibility paradox and labor shouldered by mothers as primary caregivers are considered as potential theoretical explanations for the privileging of fathers' workspace and work time.