Underestimating busyness: Indications of nonresponse bias due to work–family conflict and time pressure

International research shows that both work–family conflict and time pressure are increasing in Western societies. With these increased pressures, precisely those people who are combining work and family obligations may be missing from survey estimates. This study investigates whether the measurement of work–family conflict (WFC) and time pressure is influenced by nonresponse bias. Using the Flemish “Work, Family and Time use in Flanders”-survey and the Basic Question survey for nonrespondents of this survey, we investigate whether nonrespondents score higher on subjective and objective indicators of WFC and time pressure than respondents. Results show that nonrespondents are indeed those sample units who experience significantly more WFC and time pressure, demonstrating that WFC and time pressure related nonresponse biases exist. Implications and suggestions to reduce bias in data collections are discussed.

► We investigate whether work–family conflict (WFC) and time pressure can be underestimated due to nonresponse bias in surveys. ► The Basic Question approach is used to gather data on nonrespondents of the WFTF-survey on WFC. ► We find that nonrespondents experience more WFC and time pressure. ► WFC and time pressure are underestimated in the examined survey. ► Surveys on WFC and time pressure can suffer from nonresponse bias.