The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in STEM fields-Report of the WiMPBME Task Group

Working from home, work/life conflict and mental wellbeing in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many employees away from their offices into their homes. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in early spring 2020, most countries recommended or required that employees work remotely from home to reduce the spread of infection at workplaces and during travel to and from these workplaces.

OBJECTIVE

The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between working from home, work/life conflict and mental wellbeing in Europe during the pandemic.

METHODS

The study was based on a large-scale, online survey that was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic three times, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, in 27 EU countries, and included 53 214 respondents that were employed at the time of the study.

RESULTS

The results showed that working from home, work-to-life conflict and life-to-work conflict has increased and that mental wellbeing has decreased during the pandemic. Our regression analyses showed that the number of hours worked from home was negatively associated with work-to-life conflict and positively associated with life-to-work conflict. These results indicate that working from home can have both positive and negative consequences for employees' work/life conflict. The regression results showed that hours worked from home, work-to-life conflict and life-to-work conflict were negatively associated with mental wellbeing.

CONCLUSION

It is important to consider different work situations for different working life groupings when implementing work-from-home measures. Organizations must consider how work is supervised and help managers understand how to support employees to achieve work-life balance when working remotely.

Systems thinking on the gendered impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: A systematic review

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women and threatens to overturn four decades of progress in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. To better grasp the key areas of concern that gender inequality exists, gender studies and sex-disaggregated evidence are required. Using the PRISMA technique, this review paper is the first attempt to present a comprehensive and current picture of the gendered dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh regarding economic well-being, resource endowments, and agency. This study found that women were more likely to face hardship as widows, mothers, or sole breadwinners after the loss of husbands and male household members because of the pandemic. The evidence suggests that the advancement of women during this pandemic was hampered by poor reproductive health outcomes; girls' dropping out of school; job loss; less income; a comparable wage gap; a lack of social security; unpaid work burnout; increased emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; an increase in child marriages; and less participation in leadership and decision-making. Our study found inadequate sex-disaggregated data and gender studies on COVID-19 in Bangladesh. However, our research concludes that policies must account for gender disparities and male and female vulnerability across multiple dimensions to achieve inclusive and effective pandemic prevention and recovery.

The Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Computer Science Faculty's Turnover Intentions: The Role of Gender

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for college faculty, with evidence that it has the potential to exacerbate pre-pandemic gender inequities in work demands (Tugend, 2020). The impact of the pandemic may be particularly difficult for women in male-dominated STEM fields such as computer science that pose additional challenges and had high attrition rates among women faculty pre-pandemic (NSF, 2019; Weisgram & Diekman, 2017). The present study examined the mechanisms through which gender may have implications for changes in turnover intentions due to the pandemic among computer science faculty, with a focus on changes in work-family conflict and workplace attitudes. A total of 317 tenure-line and non-tenure line computer science faculty across the U.S. (54.26% women, 49.84% tenured) completed a survey that included items examining whether the pandemic changed work-family conflict, work-related attitudes (job satisfaction, sense of belonging, burnout), and turnover intentions. Results of analyses indicated that identifying as a woman indirectly predicted larger increases in turnover intentions due to the pandemic, through increased work-family conflict, burnout at work, and decreased feelings of job satisfaction. The results suggest that the pandemic has the potential to increase women's attrition from computer science faculty positions, further exacerbating their underrepresentation.

Remote work and the COVID-19 pandemic: An artificial intelligence-based topic modeling and a future agenda

As remote work has become more common than ever throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it has drawn special attention from scholars. However, the outcome has been significantly sporadic and fragmented. In our systematic review, we use artificial intelligence-based machine learning tools to examine the relevant extant literature in terms of its dominant topics, diversity, and dynamics. Our results identify-eight research themes: (1) Effect on employees at a personal level, (2) Effect on employees' careers, (3) Family life and gender roles, (4) Health, well-being, and safety, (5) Labor market dynamics, (6) Economic implications, (7) Remote work management, (8) Organizational remote work strategies. With further content analysis, we structure the sporadic research into three overarching categories. Finally, for each category, we offer a detailed agenda for further research.

Consequences of COVID-19 on Employees in Remote Working: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities An Evidence-Based Literature Review

The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations across all sectors and sizes to undertake crucial changes in order to remain productive during the emergency. Among these, the shift towards remote working arrangements is still present in our workplaces, impacting employees' well-being and productivity. This systematic review aims to describe the pandemic's consequences on work organization by analyzing whether and how the shift towards remote or home-working impacted employees' productivity, performance, and well-being. Furthermore, it describes the role of individual and organizational factors in determining employees' adjustment to remote work. Sixty-seven peer-reviewed papers published from 2020 to 2022, written in English, were selected through the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Findings describe how remote working arrangements, the workplace and organizational factors, and the employees' individual traits and skills impacted employees' productivity and well-being. Furthermore, they provide a description of the organizational enforcement actions reported in the literature. Managerial and practical implications, such as enforcement actions, team management strategies, and initiatives to promote employees' physical and mental health, will be discussed in the paper.

Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Work–Family Balance of Pediatric Surgeons

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge, especially for families. We aimed to analyze the impact of the pandemic on childcare for and the work–family balance of pediatric surgeons in Germany. An anonymized questionnaire on the working and familial situation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was sent to the members of the German Society of Pediatric Surgery and trainees in pediatric surgery (April–July 2021). One-hundred-fifty-three participants (59% female) completed the questionnaire. A total of 16% of the males and 62% of the females worked part-time. Most (68%) had underage children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 36% reported a decrease in patients and interventions, and 55% reported an increase in the organizational work-related burden. Childcare for underage children during lockdown was organized mainly with the help of institutional emergency childcare (45%), staying home (34%), one parent working from a home office (33%), or staying home by themselves (34%). Before the lockdown, 54% reported a good work–family balance. During the lockdown, this worsened by 42%. Most of the families had to organize themselves. Different means such as a home office, flexible working hours, and different models for childcare can help to improve the situation.

Mothers in Lockdown Due to COVID-19 in Mexico: Does Having a Paid Job Make a Difference?

Worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had one thing in common between different countries: they highly affected family life in different ways. However, the way they affected women with young children has not been well studied. With the purpose of evaluating the experience of lockdown in Mexico in mothers with and without a paid job carried out at home, 220 Mexican women between 24 and 55 years of age, with one or more children under 15 years of age and who lived with their partner, answered online questionnaires. The results show that, although most of the domestic tasks were carried out by the mothers, the partners of those who had a paid job significantly collaborated more with them. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) were frequently used in both groups, but mothers working from home used them to a greater extent. For these mothers, work overload and confinement were among the main problems caused by the lockdown measures, while the economic situation was the main issue for the group with no paid jobs. Both groups considered family coexistence and the lack of the need to hurry as the advantages of lockdown. To face it, the participants mainly carried out coexistence and entertainment activities. To explain these differences between mothers with and without teleworking, new studies will need to be carried out.

COVID-19 y desigualdades de género: los efectos de la pandemia sobre las investigadoras y científicas

Introducción. La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha tenido un impacto de género diferencial que ha situado a las mujeres en una situación de desventaja en todos los ámbitos de la sociedad, incluida la ciencia. Las mujeres son especialmente vulnerables en las pandemias, sufriendo un empeoramiento de su salud, economía y derechos. Objetivos. El principal objetivo de este artículo es el de conocer el impacto de la pandemia en la productividad de las investigadoras. Metodología. El trabajo ha consistido en la realización de una revisión bibliográfica de artículos relacionados principalmente con los temas de la productividad científica y el impacto de género que ha tenido la pandemia en la producción de las investigadoras. Resultados. El análisis de las fuentes bibliográficas revela que las investigadoras y su productividad se ha visto afectada por la pandemia, publicando menos, especialmente en puestos de autoría clave para la evaluación y dedicando menos horas a la investigación. Este efecto es especialmente acusado en aquellas que tienen hijas e hijos. Discusión y Conclusiones. La situación de pandemia ha empeorado situaciones de desigualdad que ya se experimentaban con anterioridad. En ese sentido, gran parte de la producción científica ha situado la carga de los cuidados como una de las principales razones que ha favorecido la amplificación de las desigualdades entre el personal investigador y su producción académica. Es clave que se actúe para que el daño en las carreras de las investigadoras no continúe aumentando y que se incluya a los hombres en la discusión sobre el reparto de los cuidados.

Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering: past, present and future

Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (WiMPBME) is a Task Group established in 2014 under the International Union of Physical and Engineering Scientists in Medicine (IUPESM). The group’s main role is to identify, develop, implement, and coordinate various tasks and projects related to women’s needs and roles in medical physics and biomedical engineering around the world.

The current paper summarizes the past, present and future goals and activities undertaken or planned by the Task group in order to motivate, nurture and support women in medical physics and biomedical engineering throughout their professional careers. In addition, the article includes the historical pathway followed by various women’s groups and subcommittees from 2004 up to the present day and depicts future aims to further these professions in a gender-balanced manner.

The Biggest Challenges Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender-Related Work from Home in Biomedical Fields—World-Wide Qualitative Survey Analysis

(1) Background: This paper aims to present and discuss the most significant challenges encountered by STEM professionals associated with remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (2) Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of 921 responses from professionals from 76 countries to the open-ended question: “What has been most challenging during the lockdown for you, and/or your family?” (3) Findings: Participants reported challenges within the immediate family to include responsibilities for school, childcare, and children’s wellbeing; and the loss of social interactions with family and friends. Participants reported increased domestic duties, blurred lines between home and work, and long workdays. Finding adequate workspace was a problem, and adaptations were necessary, especially when adults shared the same setting for working and childcare. Connectivity issues and concentration difficulties emerged. While some participants reported employers’ expectations did not change, others revealed concerns about efficiency. Mental health issues were expressed as anxiety and depression symptoms, exhaustion and burnout, and no outlets for stress. Fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 and uncertainties about the future also emerged. Pressure points related to gender, relationship status, and ethnicities were also evaluated. Public policies differed substantially across countries, raising concerns about the adherence to unnecessary restrictions, and similarly, restrictions being not tight enough. Beyond challenges, some benefits emerged, such as increased productivity and less time spent getting ready for work and commuting. Confinement resulted in more quality time and stronger relationships with family. (4) Interpretation: Viewpoints on positive and negative aspects of remote working differed by gender. Females were more affected professionally, socially, and personally than males. Mental stress and the feeling of inadequate work efficiency in women were caused by employers’ expectations and lack of flexibility. Working from home turned out to be challenging, primarily due to a lack of preparedness, limited access to a dedicated home-office, and lack of previous experience in multi-layer/multi-scale environments.

Alternative mental health therapies in prolonged lockdowns: narratives from Covid-19

Identify and review alternative (home-based) therapies for prolonged lockdowns. Interdisciplinary study using multi-method approach – case study, action research, grounded theory. Only secondary data has been used in this study. Epistemological framework based on a set of digital humanities tools. The set of tools are based on publicly available, open access technological solutions, enabling generalisability of the findings. Alternative therapies can be integrated in healthcare systems as home-based solutions operating on low-cost technologies.