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Amid the rising prevalence of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, scholarly interest in the effects of working from home on the fit between work and family life has regained momentum. However, little is known about whether these effects depend on workers' role salience levels. This study examines the association between the frequency of working from home and two types of work–family conflict: (a) work-to-family conflict (WTFC) and (b) family-to-work conflict (FTWC). We also examine whether these associations are moderated by the salience workers assign to their work and family roles, as well as by workers' gender and parenting status. To explore these issues, we apply linear regression analyses to data from 4067 employees in Wave 12 (2019–2020) of the German Family Panel Survey. Results show that working from home more frequently is generally associated with both higher WTFC and FTWC for women but not for men. However, among fathers, we found a significant association between working from home and higher WTFC. A moderated association by role salience, where higher work-role salience reduced the positive effect of working from home on FTWC, also only emerged among women. These results suggest that the link between working from home and the fit between one's work and family is heterogenous: it varies not only by gender and parenthood status, but also partly by the importance workers assign to their various life roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that societal norms around gender roles can shape gender-based outcomes of working from home. This paper extends these findings to see how individuals' gender role attitudes can moderate the relationship between working from home and work–family conflict, but again with varying outcomes for men and women. We use data from around 3150 employees who participated in wave 10 (2017–2018) of the German Family Panel Survey (pairfam). Results suggest that compared to employees with fixed work locations, those who work from home report higher levels of family-to-work conflict, but not higher work-to-family conflict. Positive associations between working from home and both types of work – family conflict are found only for women, not for men. Specifically, the positive association between working from home and family-to-work conflict is mainly present among women with traditional gender role attitudes, while the positive association between working from home and work-to-family conflict is mainly present among women with egalitarian gender role attitudes. No such variation, however, was found for men. This study highlights the importance of taking gender and gender role attitudes into account when examining the consequences of working from home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examines dual-earner couples to determine whether changes in work-family conflict predict changes in one's own (i.e., actor effects) or partner's (i.e., partner effects) health and well-being as well as gender differences in these relationships. Using data from 1,001 dual-earner couples in Wave 6 and Wave 8 of the German Family Panel survey (Pairfam), we found (1) significant actor effects for all outcomes, with stronger actor effects among men than women on mental health; (2) significant partner effects for life satisfaction and mental health, with stronger partner effects among men than women on life satisfaction; and (3) stronger actor effects than corresponding partner effects for life satisfaction and mental health. As work-family conflict has become a fact of life for many contemporary workers, our results contribute by highlighting the importance of using couple-level data and testing longitudinal crossover effects to provide a fuller understanding of such conflict's health consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous scholarship has highlighted how work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) and job insecurity interfere with health outcomes. Little work, however, considers how these stressors jointly influence health among workers. Informed by the stress process model, the current study examines whether job insecurity moderates the relationships between work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict and two health outcomes: self-reported physical health and poor mental health. The analyses also consider whether a greater moderating role is played by work-to-family conflict or family-to-work conflict. Using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, we also examine if patterns diverge by gender. Our results show that work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict have direct effects on poor mental and physical health. Additionally, we find that the negative effect of work-to-family conflict on poor mental and physical health is stronger for those with job insecurity, while no such relationship was found for family-to-work conflict. We found no evidence of significant gender differences in how these relationships operate. Overall, we contribute to the literature by testing the combined effects of both forms of work-family conflict and job insecurity on poor mental and physical health. We also deepen the understanding of the stress process model by highlighting the salience of the anticipatory stressor of job insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the existing literature by testing the longitudinal effects of both types of work – family conflict (i.e., work-to-family conflict [WTFC] and family-to-work conflict [FTWC]) on depressive symptoms, using data from three waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam) survey collected over a four-year period. Using responses from 631 married or cohabiting heterosexual couples, the analyses are estimated using dyadic data analysis and auto-regressive and cross-lagged panel models. This analytical approach tests direct causation, reverse causation, and reciprocal relationships among WTFC, FTWC and depressive symptoms. The results suggest a reciprocal relationship with significant cross-lagged actor effects between WTFC (and FTWC) and depressive symptoms. However, there were no gender differences in the cross-lagged actor effects between men and women, and no significant partner effects. These results highlight the bidirectional nature of the relationship between work–family conflict and depressive symptoms, which has several implications for research and practice. • Work–family conflict and poor mental health are mutually reinforcing. • This association has significant actor effects but no partner effects. • The significant effects are similar for men and women. • The significant effects dissipate after approximately two years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]