WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND MENTAL HEALTH: REMOTE WORKING A CHALLENGE FOR WORKFORCE IN INDIA DURING COVID-19

Author(s)

Divina Raghav, S. Srilatha

Affiliations

SOMS, IGNOU

Abstract

The workforce in India faced the test of finding the right balance between work and life activities during COVID 19. Throughout this period of the crisis, many individuals all over the planet faced a sudden working transition, had to work from a remote location, i.e., work from home likewise happened in India. COVID-19 catastrophe situation appeared to be more distressing as people invested more time and energy in online meetings, courses, pieces of training, webinars, and gatherings. They likewise needed "talking in person" with partners or colleagues that went missing. The difference between family time and professional time was so pronounced that they discovered it was difficult to adapt to and manage with. Furthermore, the uncertainty regarding work and the future exacerbated the problem. All of this revealed negative tendencies, as workers were only a call, summons, or message away from the employer or firm, helplessness to answer frequently generated discomfort, and therefore relaxation time with family regularly added strain and evident stress. The study shows and proves that the remote workforce in India significantly faced higher work-life imbalance in the form of raised work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict while in comparison to the regular workers with minimal change in their daily lives. Furthermore, the increased conflicts were more significant for the female population than the male population. Lastly, I noticed the negative consequences of these raised conflict levels on the mental health strata of the population.

Keywords

Mental Health, Remote Working, Work-Life Balance, COVID-19, Well-Being, Work-to-Family Conflict, Family-to-Work Conflict

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