Spatial Locational vs Temporal Hour Flexibility Decomposition
RCTClinical Trial
Policy interventions frequently bundle spatial flexibility (working from home) and temporal flexibility (flexible working hours) together, masking which specific dimension drives labor supply decisions for caregiving women.
Picture this
Imagine a lock that requires two keys: one key lets you work inside your house so you can supervise a child, and the other key lets you turn the clock hands to work at night. Being able to stay inside the house is the key that actually opens the door, while turning clock hands adds very little value on its own.
What the evidence says
Working from home with childcare multitasking increased labor take-up by 33 percentage points (228%) compared to 14.6% for office work, with effects driven primarily by working from home rather than flexible scheduling.
- Who was studied
- 1,670 households (women average age 30, 93% married, 48% with young childcare duties) across rural, peri-urban, and urban Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
- How
- 6-arm RCT comparing flexible home work with childcare, flexible home work without childcare, fixed timeslot home work with childcare, fixed timeslot home work without childcare, central office work, and control.
What to do
Prioritize remote home-based work location options over schedule variance when designing employment programs for women burdened by domestic caregiving.
From the source
"This increase was primarily due to the ability to work from home and multitask with childcare, rather than work flexible hours."
Improving Female Labor Force Participation through Flexible, Internet-mediated Gig Work in India