Does telework work for everyone? Teleworking’s impact on wellbeing across gender and parental status
- Author
- Jente Versigghel (UGent) , Hannah Hook (UGent) , Jonas De Vos (UGent) and Frank Witlox (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- The rise in teleworking has reshaped patterns of work, travel, residential choices, and social interaction, but its effects are not evenly distributed across space or socio‐economic groups. Although previous studies highlight both positive and negative consequences of teleworking, less is known about how it affects wellbeing, and whether these effects differ by gender and childcare responsibilities—two factors closely linked to unequal household and caregiving burdens. This study addresses these gaps by examining how teleworking relates to commute‐related wellbeing and general life satisfaction, and whether these relationships vary according to gender and the presence of children in the household. Data were collected through an online survey, targeting employees in East Flanders, Belgium. We estimated two OLS models to assess the influence of teleworking frequency on (a) commute‐related wellbeing and (b) general life satisfaction. The results show that teleworking is a significant predictor of commute wellbeing, but not of general life satisfaction. To explore the moderating role of gender and childcare responsibilities, we estimated two extended models: one including an interaction term between teleworking and gender, and another including an interaction between teleworking and the presence of children. We did not find evidence of gender differences among teleworkers or non‐teleworkers in commute wellbeing or life satisfaction. However, combining teleworking with childcare, especially for children under the age of six, was associated with lower life satisfaction, suggesting that the digital transition may reinforce existing social inequalities.
- Keywords
- childcare, commute wellbeing, East Flanders (Belgium), life satisfaction, remote working arrangements, TRAVEL MODE CHOICE, SATISFACTION, COMMUTE
Downloads
-
Versigghel et al., 2026.pdf
- full text (Published version)
- |
- open access
- |
- |
- 319.45 KB
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01KG7HVHYSKN88YQX3CB91VX62
- MLA
- Versigghel, Jente, et al. “Does Telework Work for Everyone? Teleworking’s Impact on Wellbeing across Gender and Parental Status.” SOCIAL INCLUSION, vol. 14, 2026, doi:10.17645/si.11538.
- APA
- Versigghel, J., Hook, H., De Vos, J., & Witlox, F. (2026). Does telework work for everyone? Teleworking’s impact on wellbeing across gender and parental status. SOCIAL INCLUSION, 14. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.11538
- Chicago author-date
- Versigghel, Jente, Hannah Hook, Jonas De Vos, and Frank Witlox. 2026. “Does Telework Work for Everyone? Teleworking’s Impact on Wellbeing across Gender and Parental Status.” SOCIAL INCLUSION 14. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.11538.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Versigghel, Jente, Hannah Hook, Jonas De Vos, and Frank Witlox. 2026. “Does Telework Work for Everyone? Teleworking’s Impact on Wellbeing across Gender and Parental Status.” SOCIAL INCLUSION 14. doi:10.17645/si.11538.
- Vancouver
- 1.Versigghel J, Hook H, De Vos J, Witlox F. Does telework work for everyone? Teleworking’s impact on wellbeing across gender and parental status. SOCIAL INCLUSION. 2026;14.
- IEEE
- [1]J. Versigghel, H. Hook, J. De Vos, and F. Witlox, “Does telework work for everyone? Teleworking’s impact on wellbeing across gender and parental status,” SOCIAL INCLUSION, vol. 14, 2026.
@article{01KG7HVHYSKN88YQX3CB91VX62,
abstract = {{The rise in teleworking has reshaped patterns of work, travel, residential choices, and social interaction, but its
effects are not evenly distributed across space or socio‐economic groups. Although previous studies highlight
both positive and negative consequences of teleworking, less is known about how it affects wellbeing, and
whether these effects differ by gender and childcare responsibilities—two factors closely linked to unequal
household and caregiving burdens. This study addresses these gaps by examining how teleworking relates
to commute‐related wellbeing and general life satisfaction, and whether these relationships vary according to
gender and the presence of children in the household. Data were collected through an online survey, targeting
employees in East Flanders, Belgium. We estimated two OLS models to assess the influence of teleworking
frequency on (a) commute‐related wellbeing and (b) general life satisfaction. The results show that teleworking
is a significant predictor of commute wellbeing, but not of general life satisfaction. To explore the moderating
role of gender and childcare responsibilities, we estimated two extended models: one including an interaction
term between teleworking and gender, and another including an interaction between teleworking and the
presence of children. We did not find evidence of gender differences among teleworkers or non‐teleworkers in
commute wellbeing or life satisfaction. However, combining teleworking with childcare, especially for children
under the age of six, was associated with lower life satisfaction, suggesting that the digital transition may
reinforce existing social inequalities.}},
articleno = {{11538}},
author = {{Versigghel, Jente and Hook, Hannah and De Vos, Jonas and Witlox, Frank}},
issn = {{2183-2803}},
journal = {{SOCIAL INCLUSION}},
keywords = {{childcare,commute wellbeing,East Flanders (Belgium),life satisfaction,remote working arrangements,TRAVEL MODE CHOICE,SATISFACTION,COMMUTE}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{20}},
title = {{Does telework work for everyone? Teleworking’s impact on wellbeing across gender and parental status}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.17645/si.11538}},
volume = {{14}},
year = {{2026}},
}
- Altmetric
- View in Altmetric
- Web of Science
- Times cited: