Working Papers

Seria wydawnicza WNE WORKING PAPERS prowadzona jest przez WNE UW od 2008 r. i jak dotąd opublikowano w niej ponad 400 prac.

Seria WNE Working Papers służy szybkiemu upowszechnianiu wyników badań prowadzonych na Wydziale Nauk Ekonomicznych UW. Publikowane tu teksty mają charakter wersji roboczych (pre-printów): mogą być uzupełniane lub poprawiane w miarę postępu prac nad tekstem i procesu wydawniczego. Prezentujemy aktualną wersję udostępnioną przez autorów, opatrzoną datą oraz identyfikatorami DOI/ISSN – co ułatwia jej cytowanie i śledzenie kolejnych iteracji. Każdy dokument zachowuje pełne prawa autorskie swoich twórców, a w przypadku późniejszych zmian, autorzy mogą w dowolnym momencie zamieścić zaktualizowany plik lub wskazać miejsce ostatecznego wydania.

Do serii WORKING PAPERS przyjmowane są artykuły pracowników naukowych WNE UW oraz publikacje z konferencji organizowanych na WNE UW. Artykuły powinny dotyczyć ekonomii, mieć charakter oryginalnych prac badawczych, nie być wcześniej publikowane. Przyjmowane są wyłącznie teksty w języku angielskim.

Prace prosimy przesyłać e-mailem na adres: PAZCVsvg0O%Wz5I3kde+^[hX/28]#[H-M#@b^Xl@gJnPA|Qm[~gAMN8}!

Prosimy przesyłać dwa pliki:

(1) główny tekst bez podania tytułu artykułu oraz autorów (plik DOC/DOCX) oraz

(2) stronę tytułową zawierającą: tytuł opracowania, autorów oraz ich afiliację (plik DOC/DOCX). 

Przed przesłaniem tekstu prosimy zapoznać się z szczegółowymi wymogami edycyjnymi.

Redaktorem wydawniczym serii Working Papers jest dr Maciej Bukowski.

Ilość wyników 2

WP(1/2026)495. Men’s working-time flexibility and transition to 2nd birth: Evidence for couples in Germany

Autorzy: Kałamucka Agata, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
Advances in information and communication technologies have accelerated the diffusion of flexible working-time arrangements, with important implications for work–family reconciliation and fertility. Yet flexible schedules are not uniform. Emplo…

WP495. Men’s working-time flexibility and transition to 2nd birth: Evidence for couples in Germany

Advances in information and communication technologies have accelerated the diffusion of flexible working-time arrangements, with important implications for work–family reconciliation and fertility. Yet flexible schedules are not uniform. Employee-oriented flexibility, which grants workers control over when they work, differs fundamentally from employer-oriented flexibility, characterised by unpredictable hours and employer-driven schedule changes. These forms are unevenly distributed across social groups and may have contrasting consequences for family formation. While previous research has focused largely on women and employee-oriented flexibility, much less is known about how men’s working-time flexibility—particularly employer-oriented forms—shapes fertility behaviour. This paper examines the association between fathers’ working-time flexibility and the transition to a second birth in Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for 2003–2019 and applying event history analysis, we analyse couples with one child, adopting a couple-level perspective that accounts for mothers’ employment status and schedule flexibility. The results show no overall association between men’s flexible schedules and second births in baseline models. However, important heterogeneity emerges once a couple’s characteristics are considered. Among dual-earner couples, fathers’ employer-oriented working-time flexibility significantly reduces the likelihood of a second birth, particularly when mothers have fixed schedules. In contrast, employee-oriented flexibility is positively associated with second births, but only in male breadwinner couples. Further analyses reveal that these relationships also vary by men’s socio-economic status. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between types of flexibility and considering couple-level contexts when assessing how labour market changes influence fertility.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.33138/2957-0506.2026.1.495
Kałamucka Agata, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
working-time flexibility fertility flexible hours Germany GSOEP

WP(28/2025)491. Working-Time flexibility and Union Dissolutions: Evidence for couples in Germany

Autorzy: Kałamucka Agata, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
Objective: This study examines the relationship between men's and women's working-time flexibility and relationship dissolutions (cohabitating and married couples) in Germany Background: Globalisation and technological advancements have popu…

WP491. Working-Time flexibility and Union Dissolutions: Evidence for couples in Germany

Objective: This study examines the relationship between men's and women's working-time flexibility and relationship dissolutions (cohabitating and married couples) in Germany
Background: Globalisation and technological advancements have popularised flexible working hours, necessitating a deeper understanding of their implications on family dynamics and relationship stability. Employee-oriented flexibility, which allows workers to adjust their schedules to meet family needs, generally supports work-family balance and reduces conflict, yet it can also blur the boundaries between work and personal life and may reduce family time. On the other hand, employer-oriented flexibility, characterised by unpredictable hours, can heighten marital strain and increase the risk of relationship dissolution.
Method: Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the final sample consists of 15,519 cohabiting and married couples, and the number of relationship dissolutions during the analysed time period is 1,463. The study employs event history analysis to explore the relationship between working-time flexibility and relationship dissolutions, differentiating by gender, parental status and the age of the youngest child. 
Results: Preliminary results indicated that employee-oriented flexibility of men tends to lower the risk of dissolution among couples with more than 2 children, especially when they are young, highlighting its benefits in facilitating family responsibilities. Any significant results on employer-oriented flexibility have not been found in comparison to fixed schedules.
Conclusion: Fathers’ more than mothers’ working-time flexibility relates to lowering the risk of relationship dissolutions, especially when children are young and in families with two or more kids, suggesting that men’s control over their schedules may facilitate greater involvement at home and alleviate care burdens on women.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.33138/2957-0506.2025.28.491
Kałamucka Agata, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
working-time flexibility couples flexible hours dissolutions Germany
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