Essential Workers Balancing Life and Work during the COVID-19 Syndemic in Spain: A Qualitative and Gender-Based Study.
Rationale. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain, healthcare workers have experienced productive work overload, as well as an increase in reproductive work, which has worsened their mental health. Little research has been done on nonhealthcare essential workers although they have been exposed to sim...
| Published in: | Health & Social Care in the Community pp. 1 - 16 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
6/14/2023
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=166735353&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 166735353 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09660410 EVX jtl: Health & Social Care in the Community issn: 09660410 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 6/14/2023 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 166735353 166735353 166735353 10.1155/2023/1124583 166735353 ppf: 1 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Essential Workers Balancing Life and Work during the COVID-19 Syndemic in Spain: A Qualitative and Gender-Based Study. aug: au: Máiz-Mazuela, Catuxa Medina-Perucha, Laura Berenguera, Anna López-Jiménez, Tomas Rodríguez-Giralt, Israel Cerezo Sepúlveda, Pablo Jacques-Aviñó, Constanza affil: Foundation University Institute for Primary Health Care Research Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain sug: subj: COVID-19 Pandemic Psychosocial Factors Social Workers Psychosocial Factors Health Personnel Psychosocial Factors Social Worker Attitudes Attitude of Health Personnel Work-Life Balance Life Experiences Social Responsibility Human Male Female Funding Source Qualitative Studies Exploratory Research Academic Medical Centers Primary Health Care Cross Sectional Studies Surveys Interviews Purposive Sample Audiorecording Videorecording Thematic Analysis Professional Recognition Flexible Scheduling Employee Assistance Programs Sabbaticals Salaries and Fringe Benefits Mental Health Spain Burnout, Professional Productivity Blue Collar Workers Stay-at-Home Orders Adverse Effects Social Isolation Support, Social Gender Equality Male Female ab: Rationale. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Spain, healthcare workers have experienced productive work overload, as well as an increase in reproductive work, which has worsened their mental health. Little research has been done on nonhealthcare essential workers although they have been exposed to similar conditions. Objective. To explore the experiences of essential workers after the first year of the COVID-19 syndemic in Spain on work-life balance, considering different professions and reproductive work responsibilities. Methods. Exploratory qualitative study using a gender perspective. Eighteen semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone or videoconference between January and March 2021. Interviews included essential workers in healthcare, social work, food related, and other settings, eleven women and seven men. A thematic analysis was conducted. Results. The disposition of essential workers for reproductive work, task sharing, and work-life balance differed according to gender. Reproductive work was predominantly the responsibility of women; work-life balance was especially challenging for single-mother families and families with children. Being an essential worker, performing face-to-face productive work during lockdown seemed to allow a sense of "normality" and personal space. However, it appeared to lead to feelings of exhaustion due to unsustainable working conditions and pressure on reproductive work during the first year of the COVID-19 syndemic. A lack of social recognition was perceived, especially among social workers. Conclusion. This study raises awareness of the difficulties of combining productive work that has become essential with reproductive work in a context of extreme social isolation and little social and institutional support. It questions the role of women in reproductive work, brings visibility to professions such as social work, and highlights the need to improve their working conditions. It is urgent to implement policies to mitigate effects on mental health and its determinants in the short term and long term to reduce gender inequity. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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