Working from home and difficulties in childcare have resulted in the corona pandemic in the fact that working hours are shifted to the evening hours and the weekend.

More women than men were affected by this, according to surveys by the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Agency.

"Above all, mothers worked more often on weekends or in the evening, among other things to be able to look after their children at school and daycare closings or during distance lessons," said the researcher Corinna Frodermann on Tuesday in Nuremberg.

According to the institute, around 52 percent of mothers with children under 14 shifted their working hours at least partially to the evening hours or the weekend at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020.

In the case of fathers, this applied to around 31 percent.

The proportion of mothers fell to around 26 percent by October 2020, but was still significantly higher on average than that of fathers with around 18 percent.

A third of the workforce relocated

Overall, 33 percent of the employees who had to look after children under the age of 14 in April 2020 had at least partially shifted their working hours, it said.

For those without children, it was 16 percent.

More than a third of those who worked at least partially from home stated in April 2020 that they work at different times than before the pandemic.

In the case of employees who did not use a home office, it was only just under 15 percent.

By October 2020, the proportions in both groups had fallen to around 18 and 5 percent.

The data are based on a survey of employees in private companies with at least 50 employees.

In April of last year 1,212 people took part, in June 909 and in October 682 people.

Women were more affected by short-time working

Earlier studies had shown, among other things, that women were significantly more often affected by short-time working in this economic crisis.

In the financial crisis a decade ago, it was men.

This has to do with the fact that industries in which many men work were in greater crisis at the time.

This time it was branches of the economy such as gastronomy and the event industry in which many women work.

Studies on the division of domestic duties between women and men showed that women were more stressed by raising children at home.

But others also showed that men expanded the extent to which they were involved at home more than women.