Working Paper
The transition to parenthood is a key source of gender inequality in the labor market, yet little is known about whether the employment changes that produce this inequality also shape parents' well-being.
Using Understanding Society, a UK panel survey, the authors track 3,898 individuals across the birth of their first child. They find that mothers' emotional well-being varies with post-birth work trajectories: those who remain in full-time work experience increased unhappiness, whereas those who move into part-time work or leave employment do not. Fathers report sustained declines in well-being despite unchanged employment outcomes. Well-being penalties thus run counter to economic ones.
The authors show that these well-being changes track how parents evaluate their working arrangements rather than their income. Their findings suggest that the misalignment between the structure of work and the realities of parenthood generates persistent well-being costs that conventional labor market outcomes alone do not capture.
