Singles-friendly work cultures and work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study across four European countries

Abstract

This study examined the correlations between perceptions of social acceptance of singlehood, a singles-friendly work culture (SFWC), and work-life balance (WLB), as well as the differences in the levels of the mentioned variables among single employees without children in four European countries: Croatia, Denmark, Italy, and Portugal. Since the study was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also considered single employees’ pandemic unique experiences. Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 722 single employees without children, of which 191 from Italy, 182 Portugal, 180 Croatia, and 160 Denmark, completed an online set of self-report scales. The results were mostly in line with the expectation that singlehood acceptance and WLB is higher, and work cultures are more single-friendly in more egalitarian countries, with highest levels being reported in Denmark, lower in Croatia, even lower in Portugal, and lowest in Italy. In all countries, variables indicating social acceptance of singlehood were weakly to moderately positively correlated to WLB and SFWC, while these variables’ correlations with the SFWC factors were mostly non-significant for Denmark. The participants additionally indicated that they felt they were expected to pick up extra shifts or be more flexible in planning private schedules, and they experienced financial differentiation.