As the COVID pandemic caused worldwide shut-downs and stay-at-home orders, many people predicted that there might be a resulting baby boom. However, that isn’t what happened. Instead, birth rates declined in most nations with a high GDP.
Not only did birth rates drop, but they also dropped significantly overall. Although, the United States was an exception. Here, birth rates fell, but not considerably. That may be due to the varying impacts of the pandemic and reactions to it across the country. Still, there was a decrease, and certainly no boom.
What happened? Why was the boom a bust? What about the near future? How will work conditions, especially the prevalence of remote work, impact birth rates, and how can employers prepare?
What Caused Decreased Birth Rates?
Economic uncertainty is a key reason that birth rates have gone down. While not everyone was furloughed during the pandemic, most felt a financial pinch in other ways.
The pandemic led to reduced hours at work, threats of imminent layoffs, lower availability of services, and even difficulty obtaining healthcare. Some states received less tax revenue and cut school funding as a result.
It’s easy to see why people would delay having children under those conditions or even ditch the idea altogether. In developed nations, most women have that choice.
There were other contributing factors as well. Many people didn’t want to pursue having a child if that meant risking a hospital birth during a pandemic spike or after a new COVID variant emerged. Fathers balked at the idea of being excluded from the delivery room due to hospital protocols.
There’s also the lack of family leave, the high price of daycare, skyrocketing health insurance costs, and no sign that anyone will resolve these issues any time soon. It’s pretty clear that they won’t be addressed at a legislative level.
Why Is a Low Birth Rate a Concern?
The United States economy, along with those in other nations, is built largely on the notion that a stable population replacement rate will help maintain a relatively steady labor pool.
Essentially, the presumption is that there will be enough members of younger generations to enter the workforce as older generations leave. This balance keeps the economy running as needed and ensures that enough revenue is created to fund the various resources required to maintain a reasonable standard of living.
When people stop having children to the extent that the replacement rate becomes an issue, that’s concerning. Long-term impacts could affect the nation’s ability to remain economically stable and continue to support older populations as they retire.
Will the Birth Rate Increase Soon?
It’s too early to say if birth rates will increase as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Hospitals were planning for a surge in births in summer 2021. However, it will take a while to see if deliveries truly are on the rise and if they will increase enough to match previous rates.
How Will Remote Work Impact Childbirth Rates?
If there is a post-pandemic baby boom, credit for that may just go to the prevalence of remote work. That’s good news for people who are able to work remotely and want to have children soon.
It’s not so great for people who cannot work remotely and must navigate challenges such as time off and daycare to have kids. It turns out that this digital divide is also a socio-economic one, with the more privileged being more likely to have remote work as an option.
Jobs that aren’t able to be done remotely tend to be largely in the service sector or manual labor. These positions are often inherently inflexible. Additionally, people in those jobs are less likely to have much bargaining power when it comes to advocating for family leave or daycare assistance.
There’s also a lack of predictability in many of these jobs. When shift work is involved, it can be nearly impossible to find adequate childcare. Time off can be impossible to come by, especially in the service industry, where the prevailing work culture often requires workers to find their own replacements to get a shift off.
Then again, remote work only helps a bit. It doesn’t remove every roadblock to having kids. Many people still have to ensure they have some sort of daycare coverage. Also, not all remote work positions are inherently flexible.
This inflexibility can make dealing with school shutdowns, childhood illness, and other unpredictable circumstances challenging. Parents who work remotely often experience stress and worry that their productivity isn’t adequate.
What Can Employers Do?
Employers can take several actions to improve working conditions for families or those who wish to start families. But why should they care? That’s simple. Companies that want to retain good workers must understand that people will leave jobs if they aren’t able to have the families they desire.
Considering we’re in the middle of a surge of resignations and anti-work sentiment, businesses should be concerned with any issue that can lead them to lose even more workers.
The first action to take would be to offer remote work or other flexible options in any case where it is possible. That’s going to be a major factor in any employer branding efforts in the future. It’s also an important first step towards creating a family-friendly work culture.
However, offering remote work is only the beginning. It’s important to create a work culture that makes remote workers feel welcome and ensures their unique needs are met.
Finally, management must take steps to create an environment that works for those who can’t work remotely. Companies can do that by offering daycare assistance as a benefit along with paid family leave.
