Working Papers

The WNE Working Papers series has been published by the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw since 2008.

The WNE Working Papers series provides a fast, open channel for disseminating research conducted at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw. The papers hosted here are working versions (pre-prints) and may evolve as authors refine their analyses, incorporate feedback, or progress through formal peer-review. What you read is the current version released by the authors, timestamped and assigned DOI/ISSN identifiers to ensure precise citation and version tracking. Copyright remains with the authors, who may, at any time, upload a revised file or add a note directing readers to a later, peer-reviewed publication.

The Working Papers series accepts articles by research employees of the Faculty and publications from conferences organised at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw. Articles should be original research papers which have not been previously published, on the subject of economics.

Please send your paper by e-mail: Z.5nUMK'41$et}lX-oR%aQj|A`{]#[Rx'Z?8/sp|fXh=dGmxHyj3OrJQh 

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(1) the main text without the title of the article and the authors (DOC/DOCX file) and

(2) the title page including: the title of the paper, the authors and their affiliation (DOC/DOCX file).

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Number of Results 4

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

Authors: 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

Authors: 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

WP(18/2025)481. The Role of Working-From-Home for Maternal Employment Re-Entry after Childbirth

Authors: Kurowska Anna, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
This study investigates how work-from-home (WFH) —by mothers and their male partners—shapes maternal employment re-entry after childbirth. Drawing on Conservation of Resources and Boundary Management theories, the study distinguishes betw…

WP481. The Role of Working-From-Home for Maternal Employment Re-Entry after Childbirth

This study investigates how work-from-home (WFH) —by mothers and their male partners—shapes maternal employment re-entry after childbirth. Drawing on Conservation of Resources and Boundary Management theories, the study distinguishes between WFH access and regular use. It hypothesizes that regular WFH use by mothers and their partners supports earlier and full-time maternal return to paid work, particularly among second-time mothers. The UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2019) is used to estimate discrete-time hazard models of return to paid work after first and second births, distinguishing between full-time and part-time re-entry. Among first-time mothers, both WFH access and regular use are associated with a greater likelihood of full-time re-entry, though not with overall return. Among second-time mothers, regular pre-birth WFH use significantly increases the likelihood of returning to paid work—regardless of hours—whereas access alone does not. No significant associations are found between male partners’ WFH and maternal employment outcomes.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.33138/2957-0506.2025.18.481
Kurowska Anna, Matysiak Anna, Osiewalska Beata
childbirth flexibility remote work return to work telework work from home United Kingdom

WP(13/2022)389. When are women who work from home more likely to have children?

Authors: Osiewalska Beata, Matysiak Anna, Kurowska Anna
We examine the timely yet severely under-researched interplay between the opportunity to work from home and childbearing. According to previous research, home-based work (HBW) may both facilitate and jeopardise work-family balance, depending on famil…

WP389. When are women who work from home more likely to have children?

We examine the timely yet severely under-researched interplay between the opportunity to work from home and childbearing. According to previous research, home-based work (HBW) may both facilitate and jeopardise work-family balance, depending on family and work circumstances. Following this research, we develop a theoretical framework on whether and under which conditions HBW may facilitate fertility. We perform random-effect logistic regression on UK Household Longitudinal Survey 2009-2019 data and consider a set of potential moderators related to woman’s family and work context. Our findings suggest that HBW can indeed help certain women have children, but only those who live far from their offices or want to combine paid work and care but receive little support from their partners. This is not the case for other women, likely because HBW entails higher expectations toward workers to perform more housework, leads to more multitasking and may have negative consequences for women’s work careers.


Osiewalska Beata, Matysiak Anna, Kurowska Anna
fertility childbearing home-based work remote work work flexibility
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