Mitigation of Work-Family Frustration in Dual-Earner Couples during COVID-19

Abstract

In this paper, we develop and test a framework of work-family frustration in live-in, dual-earlier couples in the context of COVID-19 which acts as a work-life shock event. We tested the model using a 10-day diary study of dual-earner couples in live-in partnerships. The paper contributes to the literature on work-from-home (WFH) phenomenon, which has been enabled by advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as email, messaging, and video conferencing (such as Google Meet and Zoom). We posit that given the human limitations of cognitive and emotional resources, the ICT permeability in WFH situations can favor the emergence of a state of frustration leading to potential conflicts between partners as they deal with coordination issues with work, with each other and if they have children, with the demands of caring and home schooling. We also examine the moderating effect of gender on this relationship, given the recent reports showing that women are carrying a higher proportion of domestic responsibilities even as they meet the demands of their own employment. Further, we investigate planning as a mitigating behavior that interrupts the pattern of permeability creating frustration and conflict. We find strong support for our model, providing empirical evidence of psychological costs and alleviating strategies for employees who have made an unanticipated switch to WFH with ICTs.