Work-family conflict as a gendered social determinant of parents' and children's mental health following the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and the health measures to contain it have had significant effects on the mental health of children and their parents. They have also highlighted the gender differences that persist in work-family balance, despite years of social progress in the pursuit of equity in this regard. However, the unequal distribution of difficulties in balancing work and family can not only affect several manifestations of workers' physical and mental health, but also the physical and mental health of their children. However, the impact of work-family balance on the mental health of children in Quebec following the pandemic remains unexplored. Current data also do not allow us to distinguish the gendered stressors that emerge from the articulation of two major spheres of life: work and family. Work-family conflict (WFC) is bidirectional since work can interfere with family and family can interfere with work. Considering that 55% of parents of children aged 0 to 5 in Quebec experienced moderate or high work-family conflict before the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating this conflict and the resulting inequalities is a significant challenge for businesses and the various levels of government in Canada in order to promote the mental health of parents and their children.