More work flexibility, better family health? The impact of UK legislation on the well-being of parents and children

There is limited understanding of the impact of policies that enable parents to combine work and family responsibilities on child and parental outcomes. Exploiting legislation enacted in the UK in 2003, we examine whether granting working parents the right to request flexible work arrangements influences the health and well-being of parents and children. Based on longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we use a difference-in-differences approach that compares changes in outcomes before and after the policy between parents affected and those unaffected by the policy. We find that the policy increased the use of flexible work arrangements, with particularly large effects on part-time work. An increase in the right to request part-time work led to a reduction in the probability of reporting longstanding illness and increased parental life satisfaction. Further analyses will examine impacts on children and partners. Our findings have important implications for work-family policy and family well-being.