Australian research has challenged the idea that working from home encourages couples to have more children, finding no measurable change in fertility rates among women in jobs more able to be done remotely since 2020.
The analysis by independent think-tank e61, conducted by research manager Pelin Akyol, compared post-2020 fertility rates of women aged 30 to 44 across occupations with the ability to work remotely against 2019 levels. Despite the large increase in working from home among this group, there was no discernible change in fertility rates.
The findings come ahead of new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that are expected to confirm the nation's fertility rate at a record low. Australia's fertility rate reached a record low of 1.48 births per woman in 2024, with 292,000 births recorded that year. A decade earlier, there were 300,000 births in a population almost 4 million smaller. While there was a small "baby bump" in 2021, the rate began falling again in 2022.
The research contrasts with earlier work . Research released earlier this year by academics from Germany, the United States and Britain found adults who worked from home at least one day a week between 2023 and 2025 experienced a higher fertility rate, with both parents working from home at least once a week lifting total fertility by 0.32 children per woman.
Akyol said the pandemic created a natural experiment that allowed her to study the impact of the large lift in working from home that had occurred since 2020, but it had not led to a measurable change in fertility.
"Australia's fertility decline is driven by various factors including the cost of raising children, housing affordability, economic security and the career costs of parenthood," she said. "Working from home can make some parts of family life easier. It reduces commuting time and gives workers more control over where they work, which may make it easier to combine paid work and care. However, it does not remove the financial and time costs of raising children, and it may not reduce the career costs of parenthood."
Akyol cautioned that her research did not mean workplace flexibility was unimportant for families or that it could have an impact over a longer period. "Greater flexibility may still help parents combine work and care, even if it is not enough on its own to change fertility decisions. Workplace flexibility is therefore only one part of the fertility debate," she said.
The surge in working from home coincided with the largest increase in property prices on record, with some capital cities recording increases of more than 30 per cent. That has prompted claims that high-priced housing has contributed to the global drop in fertility.
Akyol found that women in jobs that could more easily be done from home reported lower intentions to have children after 2020 and said they were less likely to have more children, but this pattern had started before the pandemic, suggesting working from home had done nothing to turn around women's child-rearing plans.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Challenges a widely touted policy idea that promoting remote work could boost birth rates, with implications for how governments design family-support policies
- Adds weight to research pointing to deeper structural factors, housing costs, economic security, career penalties, that workplace flexibility alone cannot address
- Comes as Australia's fertility rate stands at a record low, with the next ABS birth figures expected to confirm the trend
Background
Fertility rates across the developed world have been falling for decades. Governments have introduced policies ranging from tax breaks for mothers with several children to direct financial handouts. Australia's fertility rate fell by 20 per cent during the first five years of the Great Depression. The recent surge in working from home during and after the pandemic prompted speculation that it might help reverse the decline by reducing commuting and childcare costs.
Key Perspectives
Pelin Akyol (e61 research manager): Australia's fertility decline is driven by the cost of raising children, housing affordability, economic security and the career costs of parenthood. Working from home reduces commuting and gives workers more control, but does not remove the financial and time costs of raising children or the career costs.
German, US, British research team (2025 study): Adults who worked from home at least one day a week between 2023 and 2025 experienced a higher fertility rate. When both parents worked from home at least once a week, total fertility lifted by 0.32 children per woman.
What to Watch
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2025 birth figures, due imminently, which are expected to show the fertility rate at or below the current record low
- Whether longer-term studies detect any delayed effect of remote work on fertility, as Akyol noted flexibility might matter over a longer period
- Further policy responses, such as childcare subsidies or housing affordability measures, that may be needed to address the structural factors behind the fertility decline
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedAustralian research casts doubt on the theory that working from home encourages couples to have more children.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Australian research has cast doubt on claims that couples who work from home are more likely to start families or have extra children.”
- SupportedThe study found no discernible fertility change after 2020 among women in occupations more able to be done remotely.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Akyol compared post-2020 fertility rates of women aged between 30 and 44 across occupations with the ability to work remotely against 2019 levels. Despite the increase in working from home among this group, there was no discernible change in fertility rates.”
- SupportedThe e61 analysis was conducted by research manager Pelin Akyol and compared women aged 30 to 44 in occupations with remote-work capacity against 2019 fertility rates.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Akyol compared post-2020 fertility rates of women aged between 30 and 44 across occupations with the ability to work remotely against 2019 levels.”
- Partly supportedWorking from home increased substantially among the group studied.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Despite the increase in working from home among this group”
- SupportedNew Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are expected to confirm the national fertility rate is at a record low.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Ahead of new figures that are expected to confirm the nation’s fertility rate at a record low”
- SupportedAustralia’s fertility rate reached a record low of 1.48 births per woman in 2024.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Australia’s fertility rate started falling again in 2022 and reached a record low of 1.48 births per woman in 2024.”
- SupportedThere were 292,000 births in Australia in 2024.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “In 2024, there were 292,000 births recorded across the country”
- SupportedEarlier international research found that when both parents worked from home at least one day a week, total fertility rose by 0.32 children per woman.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “They found when both parents work at home at least once a week, total fertility lifts by 0.32 children per woman.”
- SupportedAkyol said Australia’s fertility decline is driven by factors including child-raising costs, housing affordability, economic security and career costs of parenthood.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““Australia’s fertility decline is driven by various factors including the cost of raising children, housing affordability, economic security and the career costs of parenthood,” she said.”
- SupportedAkyol said working from home can ease parts of family life by reducing commuting time and giving workers more control over where they work, but may not remove the financial, time or career costs of raising children.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““Working from home can make some parts of family life easier. It reduces commuting time and gives workers more control over where they work, which may make it easier to combine paid work and care.”
- SupportedAkyol cautioned that flexibility may still help parents combine work and care without being enough on its own to change fertility decisions.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““Greater flexibility may still help parents combine work and care, even if it is not enough on its own to change fertility decisions. Workplace flexibility is therefore only one part of the fertility debate,” she said.”
- SupportedAkyol found women in jobs more suited to working from home reported lower intentions to have children after 2020 and were less likely to have more children; the pattern had begun before the pandemic.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Akyol found that women who were in jobs that were more able to be done from home reported lower intentions to have children after 2020 and said they were less likely to have more children. But she also found that this pattern had started before the pandemic”