Is Telecommuting Family-Friendly? Evidence from the American Time Use Survey

Abstract

It has been argued that paid telecommuting is family-friendly, allowing workers the flexibility to attend to the needs of children or household tasks. This paper examines telecommuting using the 2017-18 American Time Use Survey module on Leave and Job Flexibilities. I examine the characteristics of telecommuters, and whether time is allocated toward family-oriented activities—or, to the contrary, toward work- in response to telecommuting. The main family-relevant effect of telecommuting is found to be an increase in childcare as a secondary activity.