PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This study examines the impact of digitally extended availability in work-from-home arrangements on work-family conflict under the intensity of work demands for parents. The advent of digital communication technologies has facilitated a shift towards a more blurred distinction between work and private life, which is often enabled by the option of working from home. Digitally extended availability, as a condition of being available for work-related requests and answering messages during non-working hours, represents a specific aspect of boundary blurring. Theoretically, it builds on the work/family border theory, which is expanded by the perspective of the flexibility paradox. This approach assumes that flexible working arrangements in contexts of work-centred always-on cultures can potentially exacerbate the reconciliation of work and private life. The results of moderated mediation models on two waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam) indicate that working from home is associated with increased work-family conflict. This association is mediated by a higher degree of digitally extended availability for work communication. Furthermore, higher work demands serve to reinforce this mediation for fathers, but not for mothers. These findings lend support to the flexibility paradox perspective and underscore gender-specific differences in the conflict-enhancement of digitally extended availability in demanding work-from-home arrangements.