Good morning. Researchers have found a connection between flexible work arrangements and fertility rates. More on that below, along with updates from the Middle East and Alberta. But first:
Today’s headlines
- The U.S. and Iran are closing in on a one-page memo to end the war, sources say
- Ottawa is prepared to table legislation that would pause the expansion of MAID to people whose sole condition is mental illness
- The board chair of the non-profit behind the failed government-funded PrescribeIT defends its CEO’s $900,000 a year compensation
A children's playground next to a school in Montreal, October 2, 2024.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Life
The WFH balancing act
Hi, I’m Zosia Bielski; I write about time use at The Globe.
Despite lots of noise about return-to-office mandates for civil servants and minions at tech firms, hybrid work persists, with many employees still working from home for part of the week.
Six years on from the start of the pandemic, a wave of studies is delving into the ripple effects of remote work on everything from productivity and hiring practices to real estate prices.
Now, researchers are asking if flexibility at work can affect people’s willingness to have children.
A groundbreaking paper from a global team of researchers concluded that fertility – both people’s plans to have kids and how many children – is higher among those who work from home at least one day a week, and even higher when both partners work remotely some of the week.
Pointing to hybrid work relaxing “household management and child-rearing costs,” the research crystallizes what parents know well already: the miracle of flexibility in managing family and career.
The paper sourced observations from more than 40,000 people ages 20 to 45 across two surveys, one global and one American. In the global findings, lifetime fertility rose by some 14 per cent when both partners worked from home at least once a week.
“Our results suggest that flexible work arrangements can play a role in family planning, helping parents combine work and family life,” Mathias Dolls, one of the study’s authors, told me this week.
This will all be intuitive for Canadians ricocheting between long days at work and an intensive culture of parenting. Hybrid work means less time spent commuting and more time for unhurried daycare pickup, family dinner and connecting with kids. Flexible hours mean you can take your child to the dentist and sit back down at the laptop in the evening instead of taking a day off.
The research makes these links tangible: For those hoping to start a family, breathing room is important. When people feel their time isn’t their own, they’re less likely to see parenthood as a possibility.
We’ve seen intense handwringing over falling birth rates. Less is said about the conditions people consider as they think through the important decision of parenthood. While paid leave and access to quality childcare are gamechangers, the research shows policymakers overlooking another key arena: the ways we organize work.
Previous research from Stanford’s Nicholas Bloom (a co-author on the current paper) showed hybrid work is just as productive as in-office hours, while boosting retention and job satisfaction.
“It doesn’t cost anything for the government,” said Dolls, deputy director of Germany’s ifo Center for Public Economics. “It’s a cheap way to support families.”
Canadian fertility rates hit a record low in 2024. Historically, birth rates have dipped steadily alongside access to education and contraception – both signs of progressive societies. Today, shifting priorities and social norms are intensifying the trend.
When Pew Research Center surveyed adults on their reasons for not having kids, 31 per cent said they “just didn’t want to.” Asked what makes a fulfilling life, young people said job satisfaction (68 per cent) and having close friends (62 per cent), with marriage (20 per cent) and children (22 per cent) lower on the list.
We hear a lot about the supposed selfishness of those who choose not to have children, about the cushy lifestyles of DINKS (Dual Income, No Kids), and their shortsighted preference for fur kids. J.D. Vance mocked “childless cat ladies.” Pope Francis blamed pet lovers for a looming “demographic winter.”
Conservatives are sabre-rattling loudest about declining births, pointing to replacement rates and traditional family values. They’ve also been critical of remote work. Take Elon Musk, father to 14, who believes adults without kids aren’t “future oriented.” The billionaire also feels it’s “morally wrong” to work from home while others toil on site.
It’s true that remote work is reserved for high-earning, well-educated office workers. Hybrid work remains impractical across most blue-collar sectors, where parents need stronger social safety nets.
Still, those studying burnout see a deep disconnect between busy parents, for whom flexibility is a godsend, and executives and politicians who don’t see the point in these discussions, even as they delegate much of their own juggle to outside help.
Researchers behind the March paper urged governments worried about shrinking birth rates to reconsider stringent return-to-office rules, starting with their own workplaces. (Think Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his full-time, in-office mandate for civil servants.)
“If you want to support fertility, it’s not a good idea to call back people five days a week to the office,” Dolls said.
The Shot
‘A respected record.’
Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Louise Arbour to announce the new Governor-General in Ottawa May 5.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Louise Arbour has been named Canada’s new Governor-General. Mark Carney checked off just about all the boxes with his choice, writes John Fraser, the author of The Governors General: An Intimate History of Canada’s Highest Office.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Alberta’s separation movement is being targeted by foreign actors seeking to stoke discord and undermine Canadian interests, researchers say.
Sources say that Alberta is pushing for a longer roadmap on carbon pricing as part of its pipeline deal with Ottawa.
Ocean: The WHO said it suspects some rare human-to-human transmission of the deadly hantavirus took place between very close contacts on a luxury cruise ship.
Reverse: An Ontario Superior Court judge revoked bail for a man accused of having played a central role in the bribery, drug-trafficking and data breaches surrounding the Project South police corruption case.
Converse: Telus Digital has deployed artificial-intelligence technology that alters the accents of customer-service agents.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Pope Francis.