Unpeeling the work-life conundrum!

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing many people while working from home because of COVID-19 has been managing the work-life conflicts that have emerged in full force. Burnout and stress was an issue even before the pandemic to the extent that WHO officially recognized it as an 'occupational phenomenon' (WHO release, 28th May 2019). The pandemic has only aggravated it further. In our survey on factors affecting employees working from home during COVID, we found work-life balance, time management, anxiety and stress, and dealing with isolation as major issues confronting employees. 

However, work-life balance is a nebulous phrase and inadequately explained. We need to hone in on what causes the imbalance and understand the various pressures that affect the equilibrium. The newsletter unpeels the layers of work-life balance and frames the issue. I will attempt to share some tactics on how to address the problem in the next newsletter.

The context: Working from home took off as an alternate work arrangement a few years ago, ironically, to address the imbalance in work-life in the office environment. Working from home became popular because over the years, among other things, commutes had become longer and travel schedules had become hectic. Women and men realized they were making trade-offs against things that mattered most in life (a child's football game, a birthday, or anniversary with a loved one, care for the elderly). Organizations too realized that granting the flexibility of working from home allowed for increased talent motivation and retention. Consequently, many opted to work from home at least a few days a week.

The natural question that arises is, why are people not experiencing a better sense of balance now that they are working from home on a sustained basis due to COVID? There are four ways of thinking about this question and are outlined below. 

Boundary setting: The first thing to note is that every individual constructs boundaries between work and home/ family. When individuals went from home to the office and back, the 'boundaries' were mostly clear. In the current shared context (between work and family) at home, the boundaries are not as sharply marked, and one could overlap into the other. One participant remarked that "I roll off my bed at 5:30 am and am on calls or meetings throughout the day. Meanwhile, my kids are home, and you have to be mindful of their snack time, mealtime, and nap time. By the time evening comes, I am so exhausted and wonder, gosh, where has the day gone!" When boundaries between work and home become permeable, and people cannot segment the two, work-life conflict is inevitable. 

Time/ energy allocation: Another way of framing the work-life issue is through the lens of time and energy allocation. We found that most of us divide our energies and time into five broad areas during COVID: work, family care, housework, leisure (Netflix binging, Zoom games, etc.) and other activities (self-care, for instance). However, the impact on one's energy comes from whether the activity is energy replenishing or energy draining. For example, taking care of one's family, say, playing games with children, or a zoom cookout with friends, could be energy replenishing; while taking care of the sick, or cleaning the house, could be energy draining. Likewise, exercise and meditation could be energy replenishing, while managing children and getting them to do homework could be energy-draining (at least for some!). Here is the funny thing...we found energy-draining and energy-replenishing phenomena in work-related matters too! For example, a stressful meeting, an unclear business agenda, financial and goal-related tensions, and office politics could be energy-draining, but working on something meaningful (Purpose) and receiving support from colleagues, particularly the boss (compassion, empathy) is energy replenishing. Check-ins, zoom quizzes and fun-events, are the right supplements, but not substitutes for meaningful work and supportive and considerate bosses and colleagues. 

Relationship equilibrium: One reason why work-life conflict is exacerbated during the pandemic is the simultaneous upheaval the employees face in five different but interconnected relationships. Under normal circumstances, employees evolve their various interpersonal relationships to arrive at some equilibrium that keeps them going. There is person-family equilibrium, whereby the person works out an equation with partners, children, and others in a manner to somehow make it work. With the pandemic, this equation is upset- parents are now caregivers, teachers, playmates, all rolled in one at the same time they have to take care of work! Then the person- boss equilibrium could be a cause for tension too. "I feel the need to show output to my manager often,' said one focus group participant, adding, "I struggle to show that, hey, I am producing things...these are the things I am working for you!" A compassionate or empathetic manager can make this equation a powerful force, while a highly task-oriented manager could drain energy. The person-subordinate equilibrium is also an essential source of tension. In our study, we found managers more stressed than individual employees, often because they are caught in-between the need to show empathy to their subordinates and yet get them to accomplish the KPIs as demanded! One manager lamented that he was on the phone till late in the evening, '9:00-10:00 pm everyday' to check on his team...and "I feel that I am carrying all the emotions on myself. I can hardly sleep." Person-client equilibrium was a surprising finding in our study, particularly for those in sales roles. One HRM remarked that he found an increase in hypertension cases among his salespeople- as they could not connect with their clients the way they used to. This equilibrium may be significant for those professions that involve high-touch with clients. Finally, person- occupation equilibrium also surfaced as an important source of tension. Say a person's role (a factory worker, a teacher, a service worker) is considered essential, and they are called back to the office or factory when conditions are still not safe, it creates tremendous anxiety. On the other hand, the company's insecurity about the role, salary, or other compensation-related decisions is also a source of tension.

Cause of conflict: Another way of looking at work-life balance is by identifying what causes conflict in the first place. Researchers have identified four such conflicts. First is the strain-based conflict, where exhaustion in one role spills over to the other roles. One participant spoke about the fact that as an occupational health specialist in COVID times, he was busy in keeping others safe, he was not sure if he was exposing himself and his family to COVID. So his wife decided that until the situation improved, she would take her children and move to her parent's home as he could not guarantee the safety of their health...and that was four months ago! Time-based conflict occurs when pressures from one role make it impossible to engage with another role. Many managers have expressed that their working from home has been more demanding on their time than working from the office! Thirdly, behavior-based conflict speaks to the incongruence on expectations during times like the pandemic. A hard-charging manager now showing compassion may appear fake and untrustworthy, or a compassionate manager trying to get tough with his people to drive results may not be taken seriously, are examples of behavior-based conflicts. Finally, we have psychology-based conflict, where distractions from one role leave the person unable to focus on other roles. For instance, if someone in the family is sick with COVID, it is difficult for one to be fully functional at work. Also, when employees are hearing rumors about job cuts, it may make them moody on the family front.

As the pandemic rages on, there have been reports of an increase in mental health issues due to work-life balance, stress, and anxiety issues. My attempt here is to unpeel the layers of complexity to the question of work-life conflict that we are experiencing today, which may at least make us sensitive to the source of some of the tension we feel. Next week we will discuss some of the tactics we can employ to address the same. Meanwhile, do you agree with the above analysis? If yes, are there any best practices you or your organizations have that you would be willing to share in the comments section below?