Across the world, fertility rates have been falling for decades. Now new evidence from the United States (US) suggests an unexpected turnaround, and one that carries lessons for South Africa. The rise of remote work has quietly made it easier for couples to start families, restoring time and stability to homes where long commutes once drained both.

A new Stanford University study has found that the expansion of remote and hybrid work since the pandemic is driving a measurable increase in births across the US. Researchers estimate about 80 000additional births per year between 2021 and 2025 are linked to flexible work arrangements that allow couples to spend more time together.

The study reports that couples where at least one partner works from home one day a week: “are more likely to conceive and more likely to plan to have more children in the future” compared to those who commute full time. The findings show that family formation depends as much on time and emotional availability as it does on income.

Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who coauthored the report, noted that: “it’s hard to conceive by email.” The new work culture, he said, is giving parents a chance to balance work and family life more naturally.

Before the pandemic, only 18% of American workers, around 28 million people, were based primarily at home, according to the US Census Bureau. By 2023 that figure had jumped to roughly 28%, a 10-percentage point rise that made early caregiving far more attainable for many families.

For South Africa, where fertility has fallen from 2.9 children per woman in 2011 to 2.3 in 2024 according to Stats SA, the results highlight the social value of flexibility. Policies that enable parents to work from home could support caregiving and help reduce the fiscal burden of child raising.

As The Common Sense reported in a analysis of South Africa’s falling birthrate, the country faces a similar challenge: fewer young families, delayed parenthood, and the erosion of early caregiving time. The Stanford findings suggest that reforming workplace culture could be part of the solution.