Birth rates are falling across much of the world, but working from home may help increase them. Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies remote work, estimates that it has increased fertility by 5% in the US and Northern Europe. The connection is strongest among women aged 30 and over who have a university degree and already have one child.
Bloom says one reason is that remote work makes childcare easier to manage. Parents may need to take their children to medical or dental appointments, visit school when a problem happens, or collect a child early. These tasks are harder when a parent leaves home at eight in the morning and does not return until six in the evening.
Working from home also gives couples more opportunities to become pregnant. Bloom explains that pregnancy can become harder to achieve after the age of 30, and especially after 35. Timing matters, and working remotely can make that timing easier.
