Women and Work-Life balance during the Pandemic: Reporting on an Indian study

Abstract

Background
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected women significantly across the world,
bringing in several work-life balance issues in their lives. The convergence of family and work
obligations within the domestic space demanded a multifaceted role performance from Indian
women. Married women had more strain due to their unique ascribed gender roles, prevalent
in the patriarchal socio-cultural milieu in which they live.
Purpose
This study aims at demonstrating the impact of Covid-19 on the work-life balance of Indian
women through a social role theory and border theory lens.
Methods
Guided by a descriptive research methodology, this cross-sectional study using purposive
sampling method collected data from 305 women employees from a range of occupations in
the public and private sectors from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka states of India. Worklife
balance is examined as family-work conflict and work-family conflict.
Results
This paper illustrates how, amid the covid-19 pandemic, the traditional gender roles have
exacerbated the family duties of Indian women as well as aggravated their family-work and
work-family conflicts. The integration of work and family domains within the pandemic, has
also constrained their ability to make transitions between these domains. Furthermore, the
findings also highlighted the role of support systems from family and work in strengthening
the WLB of women during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Conclusion
The findings enhance our understanding of the impact of work from home on women
employees’ work-life balance during lockdown and the protective and proximate factors
associated with it.