Is Workplace Flexibility Penalised? The Gendered Consequences of Working from Home for the Wages of Parents and Childless Employees in the UK

Abstract

Working from home has been discussed in terms of reconciling work and family life and reducing gender gaps in the labour market. However, its implications for wages remain the subject of debate, with some researchers arguing that flexibility stigma disproportionately disadvantages certain groups, particularly mothers. This article uses data from Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, to investigate whether working from home has different consequences for individual wages according to gender and parental status. Inverse probability weighted fixed-effects regression models are used with a sample of up to 8552 employees. The results suggest that working from home is associated with higher earnings for mothers, suggesting that the benefits of flexible working arrangements may outweigh potential disadvantages.