Family Benefits of Working From Home

Remote work could help solve the U.S. population problem, a new study finds

- by JOSHUA RHETT MILLER

FAMILY GAINS Research links hybrid work to higher birth rates, as flexible schedules make child care and family planning easier for couples.

AS COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE seek ways to offset declining birth rates, a widespread remote-work model could provide a sizable baby boom, researchers and analysts said.

In August, a group of seven researchers established a “positive relationship” between remote work and procreation after analyzing data from 38 countries, including the U.S., where the fertility rate dropped to an all-time low last year of fewer than 1.6 children per woman.

“Respondents who WFH at least one day per week had more biological children from 2021 to early 2025, and plan to have more children in the future compared to observationally similar persons who do not WFH,” researchers wrote. “Respondents whose spouse or domestic partner works from home also report higher recent and planned fertility.”

But when both partners worked remotely at least one day per week, total lifetime fertility increased by 0.2 children among the global sample and 0.18 children in the U.S., researchers found.