What does this research mean for the field?

Wives' use of flexible work arrangements consistently increases their share of housework, whereas husbands' use of such arrangements only reduces wives' housework share when husbands hold lower relative bargaining power. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate how flexible work arrangements interact with couples' relative bargaining power to influence the division of domestic labor in dual-earner households.

August 30, 2026Social Science ResearchOpen Access

Flexible work and housework division in dual-earner couples in the UK: The role of relative bargaining power

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Authors

SCShiyue CuiUniversity of Oxford

Discussion

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Implication

Panel study reveals that flexible work reduces wives' housework share only when husbands have lower bargaining power, indicating domestic labor shifts depend on relational status.

Key Points

To investigate how flexible work arrangements interact with couples' relative bargaining power to influence the division of domestic labor in dual-earner households.
Analyzed nationally representative longitudinal panel data from dual-earner couples in the UK spanning 2010 to 2024.
Assessed relative bargaining power via differences in income and occupational class using two-way fixed-effects regression models.
Wives' adoption of flexible work arrangements was consistently associated with an increased share of domestic housework.
Husbands' flexible work adoption was associated with a lower share of housework for wives only when husbands possessed lower bargaining power than their partners.
Reduced working hours and remote work induced stronger redistributive effects toward husbands than flexi-time schedules.

Cite This Study

Shiyue Cui (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f00a6c1a8fb52e79c154 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2026.103422

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Implication

Panel study reveals that flexible work reduces wives' housework share only when husbands have lower bargaining power, indicating domestic labor shifts depend on relational status.

Flexible work and housework division in dual-earner couples in the UK: The role of relative bargaining power

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Flexible work and housework division in dual-earner couples in the UK: The role of relative bargaining power

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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