Did perceptions of supportive work-life culture change during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Objective: This article examines whether perceptions of supportive work-life culture changed during the COVID-19 pandemic-and if that depended on (1) working from home; (2) children in the household; and (3) professional status. We test for gender differences across the analyses.

Background: During normal times, the "ideal worker" is expected to prioritize the demands of their job and is penalized for attending to family/personal needs while on company time. But the organization and expectations of roles might have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations could have become more empathic or reinforced norms about single-minded devotion to work.

Method: In September 2019, we collected data from a national sample of Canadian workers. Then, during a pivotal period of shocks to the economy and social life, we re-interviewed these participants in June 2020.

Results: We discovered that overall perceptions of work-life culture became more positive. However, subgroup differences revealed this positive change was muted among employees: (1) who worked from home; (2) with children under age 6 at home; and (3) in professional occupations. We found no subgroup differences by gender.

Conclusion: Our findings address speculation about whether employees perceived their employers as becoming more supportive of work-life fit early in the pandemic. Future research should determine (a) longer-term change in work-life culture during and after the pandemic; and (b) whether the actual benefits of supportive work-life culture also changed or if it was "window dressing." This direction suggests it should have more strongly reduced work-life conflict as the pandemic unfolded.