Stephan Bischof¹; Laura Menze²; Sophie-Charlotte Meyer²

¹ Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung; ² Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin

For the majority of employees, commuting is an integral part of everyday working life, although the time spent commuting to work varies greatly. In this paper, we analyse how differences in daily commuting time relate to job satisfaction. In doing so, we contribute to the literature in two ways: First, while most previous studies have relied on cross-sectional data, we use longitudinal data and focus on intraindividual differences, allowing us to better address selection into commuting and unobserved heterogeneity. Second, the mechanisms through which commuting time influences job satisfaction have rarely been studied. Therefore, referring to economic theories and approaches from work and occupational health psychology, we take a first step and examine the role of two groups of potential mediating factors: labour market returns and working conditions.

Our analyses are based on unique panel data from the German BAuA-Working Time Survey for the years 2015 to 2021. We apply both pooled OLS and fixed effects regression models to account for time-constant unobserved heterogeneity. As potential mediators, we include wages and qualification match as labour market returns as well as emotional exhaustion, social support and time pressure as work-related conditions.

Our findings show that longer commuting time is associated with reduced job satisfaction. Although the labour market returns examined do not seem to account for this relationship, poorer working conditions that go along with longer commutes seem to play an important role for the negative association between commuting time and job satisfaction.

Elias Hofmann¹; Heiko Rüger¹; Nico Stawarz¹; Stefanie Kley²

¹ Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung; ² Universität Hamburg

Weekend commuting (WC) is a form of multilocality in which individuals commute between their primary residence and a secondary residence at their place of work, typically on a weekly basis. WC is often chosen by couple households as it enables partners to balance and pursue both of their careers. However, WC might come with burdens on both commuters and their non-commuting partners, such as extended periods of separation, and commuting-related stress.

This study examines the relationship between the onset of WC and changes in subjective well-being (SWB) for commuters and their coresidential partners. Theoretical considerations suggest that individuals only choose WC if they expect it to enhance their SWB. At the same time, individuals may accept drawbacks in certain areas of life (e.g. partnership, social life) in exchange for benefits in other areas (e.g. work, career). Using distributed fixed-effects regressions and data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we extend upon the previous literature by focusing on SWB (measured with general life satisfaction) and work satisfaction of weekend commuters and the general life satisfaction of their partners.

First results show that for commuters, the onset of WC is associated with a moderate increase in overall life satisfaction, and a more pronounced increase in job satisfaction. Furthermore, the life satisfaction of non-commuting partners remains largely unchanged. Our findings suggest that WC is a mobility arrangement that allows couples to balance the career and residence preferences of both partners and is therefore, under certain conditions, a suitable alternative to household relocation.

Lena Hipp¹; Corinna Harsch²; Marcel Knobloch³

¹ WZB Berlin Social Science Center; ² WZB Berlin Social Science Center/ Freie Universität Berlin; ³  University of Potsdam

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced remote work and greater working time flexibility for many employees—practices that largely persisted even after the pandemic officially ended. However, in light of some organizations’ recent efforts to bring employees back to the office, it remains unclear how employers perceive candidates who express a desire for flexible work arrangements. Do such applicants suffer from a “flexibility stigma,” as suggested by the extensive pre-pandemic literature? Are employers reluctant to hire employees with flexibility requests due to productivity concerns, or is it rather a perceived “lack of fit” that may deter them from hiring workers with such requests? To answer these questions, we proceeded in two steps.

First, we conducted a large-scale, pre-registered field experiment across a broad range of occupations and industries in Germany. We sent over 15,000 comparable unsolicited job applications (fielded in November 2024), in which we randomly varied applicants’ gender and parental status, as well as whether they indicated a preference for flexible work (flexible hours or working from home). Our findings show that candidates who request flexible work are less likely to receive a positive employer reaction (i.e., callback or interview invitation vs. no response or rejection) than those who do not. Contrary to our expectations, we find that male applicants are less likely to receive a positive employer reaction, and that gender differences are particularly pronounced when applicants request the possibility to work from home or have flexible hours. However, we do not find evidence that flexibility penalties vary by parental status. While industry-level differences are generally modest, acceptance of remote work is particularly low in male-dominated manufacturing sectors. In contrast, in occupations and industries facing acute skill shortages, applicants requesting flexible arrangements do not experience any measurable disadvantage in their initial contact with employers.

In a second step, we invited the same employers to participate in a factorial survey experiment (FSE), in which they evaluated four vignettes that varied by gender, parental status, flexibility requests, and two productivity characteristics (fielded from May to June 2025). The results from the FSE, along with employer responses from a post-hoc survey, help us understand the mechanisms that lead to biases against workers who request remote work and flexible working hours.

Stephan Bischof¹; Inga Laß²; Heiko Rüger¹

¹ Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung; ² Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research

The recent rise in working from home (WFH) has substantially transformed working life by altering job demands, tasks, and the relevance of specific skills such as communication and digital skills. Furthermore, WFH has widened local labour markets, potentially leading to better skill matches. However, the questions of how workers adapt to these new conditions and whether WFH allows them to (more) fully utilise their skills are still largely unanswered.

This study is the first to investigate the association between WFH and individuals’ skill matching. We draw on longitudinal data from 23,968 workers from 23 waves of the Australian HILDA Survey (2001-2023), which provides annual information on both the extent of WFH and skill matching. This enables us to analyse how changes in WFH patterns affect individuals’ skill matching over time. We apply both pooled OLS (POLS) and fixed-effects (FE) regressions to gauge the role of time-constant unobserved heterogeneity.

Our POLS results indicate that WFH is significantly associated with better skill matching for men independent of the extent of WFH, and for women with the exception of those with very extensive WFH use. In the FE models, the effects mostly attenuate but remain significant. This suggests that POLS effects may be inflated due to selection into WFH arrangements of workers with unobserved characteristics that also promote skill matching (e.g. ability). Overall, both men and women experience a significant improvement in skill matching by WFH, suggesting that WFH could play a crucial role in enhancing matching quality on the labour market.