Course Description:
Recorded at AIHce EXP 2022
The world changed from December 2019 to the present because of COVID-19, especially for women in the workplace with families. Evidence shows their physical & emotional well-being were adversely affected disproportionately by the burden of balancing personal time, social responsibilities, job, & family. Women, shouldering the majority of family duties, were suddenly struck with: a) increased work; b)increase caregiving responsibilities for family; and 3) homeschooling their children.Working women with caregiver responsibilities are challenged daily with no clear outcomes post-pandemic. During COVID-19 nearly 50% of mothers took unpaid sick leave due to school closures, increasing to 65% for low-income mothers, to 70% among mothers working part-time jobs. More than 50% of mothers who worked with school age children said stress & worry of the pandemic affected their mental health. One in five characterized mental stress as the major factor. 1.8 million women dropped out of the labor force. Yet only 16% of women have had the opportunity to seek mental health care. This session will: 1) give an overview of the work environment faced by women pre-pandemic, today, and where it may be going; 2) focus on selected case studies to identify stressors associated with balancing work & family during COVID-19 & the altered workplace; and 3) recommend strategies for both worker & employer to help mitigate the excess burden.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• Examine workplace advances and challenges creating stress for women that existed pre-pandemic.
• Recall the impacts of the abrupt, unanticipated shift to working from home.
• Review the strategies attempted to continue working and the resulting new stressors.
• Examine ongoing stressors evolving from return-to-work environments.
• Discuss the pros and cons for maintaining family-work balance.
• Recommend strategies to implement that mitigate these stressors for women and employers.
1
Presentation Date:
05/24/2022
Presenters:
Penney Stanch
James McGlothlin, Ph.D., CPE, FAIHA