Work-Life Conflict Experienced By Turkish Women Managers During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Research

Öz

The changes in business life during the Covid 19 Pandemic had a significant effect on work-life balance of individuals, especially women as their roles at home and work have increased and the conflict between these roles has become more pronounced. Considering this fact, this research aimed to determine the conflicts and changes in the work-life balance of female managers during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the research was carried out within the framework of workplace responsibilities, private life responsibilities, work-private life conflict, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This research was carried out in educational institutions of Turkey, through interviews with 16 married women employees who have children. The obtained data were classified following the main purpose of the research and content analysis, then coded and analyzed using the MAXQDA. The findings showed that the dominant factor in the pandemic period was Work-Life conflict and job responsibilities restricted private life responsibilities more. The fact that working at home decreases productivity, low productivity extends working hours, and the negative effects of technology increasing the workload have caused female managers, who are aware of their job responsibilities, to work more.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• covid 19 pandemic
• women managers
• work-life conflict

Kaynakça

1. Adisa, T. A., Aiyenitaju, O. & Adekoya, O. D. (2020). The work–family balance of British working women during the covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 2205-2062. DOI 10.1108/JWAM-07-2020-0036.
2. Akca, M. & Küçükoğlu Tepe, M. (2020). Covid-19 and its effects on business life: work at home. Journal of International Management Educational And Economics Perspectives, 8 (1): 71-81.
3. Amstad, F. T., Meier, L. L., Fasel, U., Elfering, A., & Semmer, N. K. (2011). A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16: 151-169. doi:10.1037/a0022170.
4. Baykal, E., Soyalp, E., & Yeşil, R. (2020). Queen bee syndrome: A modern dilemma of working women and its effects on turnover intentions. In Strategic Outlook for Innovative Work Behaviours (pp. 165-178). Springer, Cham.
5. Bellavia, G.M. & Frone, M.R. (2005). Work-family conflict. J. Barling, E.K. Kelloway, M.R. Frone (Eds.), Handbook of work stress, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 113-148. Berg, L. & Lune, H.(2019). Qualitative Research Methods For The Social Sciendes. London: Pearson Publishing.
6. Bhumika (2020). Challenges for work–life balance during covid-19 induced nationwide lockdown: exploring gender difference in emotional exhaustion in the Indian setting, Gender in Management: An International Journal, Doi: 10.1108/GM-06-2020-0163, https://www.emerald.com/insight/1754-2413.htm
7. Boca, D. D., Oggero, N., Profeta. P. & Rossi, M. C. (2020). Women’s work, house work and childcare, before and during COVID-19. IZA DP No. 13409, Bonn: IZA-Institute of Labor Economics.
8. Burley, K. A. (1995). Family variables as the mediators of the relationship between work–family conflict and marital adjustment among dual-career men and women. The Journal of Social Psychology, 135, 483–497. doi:10.1080/00224545.1995.9712217.

9. Cardenas, R. A. & Major, D. A. (2005). Combining employment and breastfeeding: utilizing a work-family conflict framework to understand obstacles and solutions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(1), 31-51.
10. Calvo Salguero, A., Salinas, J. M. & Aguilar Luzón M. C. (2011). Gender and work–family conflict: Testing the rational model and the gender role expectations model in the Spanish cultural context. International Journal of Psychology, 47(2):118-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2011.595414.
11. Clark, S.C. (2000). Work/family border theory: a new theory of work/family balance. Human Relations, 53(6):747-770.
12. Contreras, F., Baykal, E., & Abid, G. (2020). E-leadership and teleworking in times of COVID-19 and beyond: What we know and where do we go. Frontiers in Psychology, 11: 3484. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.590271
13. Crabtree Ashencaen S., Esteves, L. & Hemingway, A. (2020). A ‘new (ab)normal’?: Scrutinising the work-life balance of academics under lockdown. Journal of Further and Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1853687.
14. Demirel, Ercan E., & Erdirençelebi, M. (2019). The relationship of burnout with workaholism mediated by work-family life conflict: a study on female academicians. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 15(4), 1300-1316. doi: 10.17263/jlls.668436.
15. Dockery, M., & Bawa, S. (2020). Working from home in the covid-19 lockdown. Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Research Brief COVID-19: 1-5.
16. Drisko, J.W. & Maschi, T. (2017). Content Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
17. Erdirençelebi, M. (2021). Work–family life balance in the changing business world. Ed: Turkmenoglu, M.A. and Cicek, B. Contemporary Global Issues in Human Resource Management, Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 53-72. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-392-220201007.
18. Erdirençelebi, M. & Ertürk E. (2020). Covid-19 Sürecinde Kadın Çalışanların İş-Aile Yaşam Dengesi(Sizliği) (pp. 29-56). in: (2020). Covid 19 Döneminde İktisadi, İdari ve Sosyal Bilimler Çalışmaları içinde C.Ş. Eyel, & S. Gün (Eds), Ankara: Turkey: İksad Publishing House.
19. Erdirençelebi, M. & Karakuş, G. (2018). A study to measure the effect of glass ceiling sydrome perceptions of female employees on their job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Journal of Business Research-Turk. 10(3): 95-119. DOI: 10.20491/isarder.2018.465.
20. Frone, M.R. (2003). Work-Family Balance. (pp.143-162). in: (2003). J.C. Quick & L.E. Tetrick (Eds), Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
21. Greenhaus, J. H. & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1):76-88.
22. Harvey, M., Napier, N. K., Moeller, M. & Williams, L. A. (2010). Mentoring global dual-career couples: a social learning perspective. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(1): 212-240. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00571.x
23. Hill, E. J. (2005). Work–family facilitation and conflict, working fathers and mothers, work–family stressors and support. Journal of Family Issues, 26, 793-819.
24. Hjálmsdóttir, A. & Bjarnadóttir, V. S. (2020).“I have turned into a foreman here at home”: Families and work–life balance in times of covid-19 in a gender equality paradise. Gender Work Organ, 1–16. doi: 10.1111/gwao.12552.
25. Kara Keskinkılıç S.B., Güneş, Z. D. & Tüysüzer Şentürk B. (2021). Work-family conflict during working from home due to pandemic: a qualitative research on female teachers. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, Special Issue- 13(1), Special Issue:251-273.
26. Kavas Nakışci, B. & Develi, A. (2020). Çalışma yaşamındaki sorunlar bağlamında covid-19 pandemisinin kadın sağlık çalışanları üzerindeki etkisi. Uluslararası Anadolu Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 4(2): 84-112.
27. Kinnunen, U. & Mauno, S., (1998), Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict among employed women and men in Finland. Human Relations, 51(2): 157-177. Kossek, E. E., & Ozeki, C. (1998). Work-family conflict, policies, and the job-life satisfaction relationship: a review and directions for organizational behavior-human resources research.  Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2): 139-149. DOI: 10.1037//0021-9010.83.2.139.
28. Krippendorff, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction To Its Methodology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
29. Lim Y., Park H., Tessler H., Choi M., Jung G. & Kao G. (2020). Men and women’s different dreams on the future of the gendered division of paid work and household work after covid-19 in South Korea. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 69 (2020) 100544: 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100544.
30. Macionis, J. J. (2017). Sociology, Kenyon College: Gambier, Ohio.
31. McLaren-Jaqueline H., Wong, K. R., Nguyen, K. N., & Mahamadachchi-Damayanthi, K. N. (2020). Covid-19 and women’s triple burden: Vignettes from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia. Social Sciences. 9(87): 1-11. doi:10.3390/socsci9050087.
32. Narisada, A. (2020). Job pressure, the work-family interface, and the sense of distributive injustice: An elaboration of work-related inputs among 21st century workers. Social Psychology Quarterly, 83 (2): 107-128.
33. Netemeyer, R.G., Boles, J.S. & McMurrian, R., (1996). Development and validation of work-family conflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81: 400-409.
34. NSPCC. (2020). Arguments, conflict and family tension during coronavirus (Covid-19). (Erişim Tarihi: 07.08.2020). https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-forparents/arguments-conflict-family-tension-coronavirus-lockdown.
35. Oruç, İ. & Demirkol, Ş. (2015). Cam Tavan Sendromu, Örgütsel Davranışta Güncel Konular. D. Küçükaltan, Ş.A. Türkeltürk & Gürkan G. Ç.( Eds.), Ankara: Detay Yayıncılık.
36. Öge, E. & Çetin, M. (2020). Covid-19 Pandemisi: İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi Açısından Olası Etkileri. in Covid-19 Süreci ve Örgütsel Yönetim. Dr. Alper Tutcu ve Dr. Serkan Gün. (Eds). Ankara:İksad Yayınevi.
37. Özdevecioğlu, M. & Doruk, N. Ç. (2009). Organizasyonlarda iş-aile ve aile iş çatışmalarının çalışanların iş ve yaşam tatminleri üzerindeki etkisi. Erciyes Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 33, Temmuz-Aralık: 69-99.
38. Özkul, R. & Cömert, M. (2019). Secondary school teachers work-family conflict levels. Kastamonu Education Journal, 27(1): 129-138.
39. Palumbo, R. (2020). Let me go to the office! An investigation into the side effects of working from home on work-life balance. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 33(6/7), 771-790. Doi:10.1108/IJPSM-06-2020-0150.
40. Pedersen, D. E. & Minnotte, K. L. (2012). Self- and spouse-reported work–family conflict and dual-earners’ job satisfaction. Marriage & Family Review, 48(3): 272-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2012.665015.
41. Premeaux, S. F., Adkins, C. L., & Mossholder, K. W. (2007). Balancing work and family: A field study of multi-dimensional, multi-role work-family conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28: 705–727.
42. Rubin, O., Nikolaeva, A., Nello-Deakin, S., & te Brömmelstroet, M. (2020). What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic about how people experience working from home and commuting?.University of Amsterdam Press.1-9.
43. Qiu, L. & Fan, J. (2015). Family boundary characteristics, work-family conflict and life satisfaction: A moderated mediation model. International Journal of Psychology, 50(5): 336-344.https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12107.
44. Qian, Y. & Fuller, S. (2020). Covid-19 and the gender employment gap among parents of young children. Canadian Public Policy, 46(S2):89-101. DOI: 10.3138/cpp.2020-077. Schieman S., Narisada, A. (2021). A less objectionable greed? Work-life conflict and unjust pay during a pandemic. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 71: 100564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100564.
45. Schieman, S., Badawy, P. J., Milkie, M. A. & Bierman, A. (2021). Work-life conflict during the covid-19 pandemic. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 7:1-19. DOI: 10.1177/2378023120982856.
46. Serinikli, N. (2021). Organizational change in the covid 19 outbreak: remote/home working model. The Journal of International Social Sciences, 31(1): 277-288.
47. Shockley, K. M., & Singla, N. (2011). Reconsidering work–family interactions and satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 37: 861–886. doi:10.1177/0149206310394864.
48. Starmer, A. J., Frintner, M. P., Matos, K., Somberg, C., Freed, G., & Byrne, B. J. (2019). Gender discrepancies related to pediatrician work-life balance and household responsibilities. Pediatrics, 144(4), e20182926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2926.
49. Thomason, B. & Williams, H. (2020). What will work-life balance look like after the pandemic? Harvard Business Review, April, 16, Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/04/what-will-work-life-balance-look-like-after-the-pandemic.
50. Tuğsal, T. (2020). The mediator role of social support amid work-life balance and burnout of employees’ in the context of coronavirus pandemic precautions and social isolation. BUJSE, 13(1), 8-20. doi: 10.18221/bujss.718383.
51. Tuna Akbaş, A. & Türkmendağ, Z. (2020). Covid-19 pandemi döneminde uzaktan çalışma uygulamaları ve çalışma motivasyonunu etkileyen faktörler. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 12(3): 3246-3260.
52. TUİK (2021). https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Istatistiklerle-Kadin-2020-37221&dil=1.
53. Uysal, N. & Yılmaz, Çayır, M. (2020). Akademisyenlerde iş yaşam dengesi ve uzaktan çalışmaya ilişkin görüşlerin belirlenmesi. Journal Of International Social Sciences Academic Researches, 4(1):26-37.
54. Vaziri, H., Casper, W. J., Wayne, J. H. & Matthews, R. A. (2020). Changes to the work–family interface during the covid-19 pandemic: examining predictors and implications using latent transition analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(10): 1073-1087. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000819.
55. Voydanoff, P. (2007). Work, family, and community: Exploring interconnections. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
56. Yüksel, İ. (2005). İş-aile çatışmasının kariyer tatmini, iş tatmini ve iş davranışları ile ilişkisi. İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 19(2): 302-313.
57. Wayne, J.H., Musisca, N. & Fleeson, W. (2004). Considering the role of personality in the work-family experience: relationships of the big five to work-family conflict and facilitation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(1): 108-230.
58. Wolor, C. W., Solikhah, S., Fidhyallah, N. F. & Lestari, D. P. (2020). Effectiveness of e-training, e-leadership, and work life balance on employee performance during covid-19. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(10): 443-450. doi:10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no10.443.