The COVID-19 Pandemic and Family Time Among Married Working Women in South Korea

Abstract

Despite the importance of time with family when facing stressful events, there is insufficient understanding of time spent with family during the COVID-19 pandemic among married working women. This study examined how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with time spent with family among such women in South Korea, focusing on variations according to occupation and employment status. To address these questions, we pooled cross-sectional data collected before and during the pandemic ( N = 13,089) and conducted independent t tests, ANOVAs, and ordinary least squares regression analyses. The results showed that married working women spent more time with their families during the pandemic than before. Furthermore, family time differed significantly according to occupation but not employment status. Both occupation and employment status moderated the association between the pandemic onset and time spent with family. Compared to clerks, managers, and professionals had greater increases in family time, while there were smaller increases for workers in service, sales, craft, and production. Moreover, temporarily employed women had a lower increase in family time than permanently employed women. We suggest that these differences may have arisen from the different levels of feasibility of having family-friendly work schedules and flexible working arrangements in different occupations and forms of employment.