Gender and Work-Life Balance during COVID-19: A Study of Public Affairs Faculty

Kotini-Shah P., Man B., Pobee R., Hirshfield L.E., Risman B.J., Buhimschi I.A., Weinreich H.M.

Background: For faculty in academic health sciences, the balance between research, education, and patient care has been impeded by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to identify personal and professional characteristics of faculty to understand the impact of the pandemic on faculty and consequent policy implications. Methods: A 93-question survey was sent to faculty at a large urban public university and medical center. Demographic, family, and academic characteristics, work distribution and productivity before and during the pandemic, stress, and self-care data information were collected. Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify classes of faculty sharing similar characteristics. Comparisons between latent classes were performed using analysis of variance and chi-square analyses. Results: Of 497 respondents, 60% were women. Four latent classes of faculty emerged based on six significant indicator variables. Class 1 individuals were more likely women, assistant professors, nontenured with high work and home stress; Class 2 faculty were more likely associate professors, women, tenured, who reported high home and work stress; Class 3 faculty were more likely men, professors, tenured with moderate work, but low home stress; and Class 4 faculty were more likely adjunct professors, nontenured, and had low home and work stress. Class 2 reported significantly increased administrative and clinical duties, decreased scholarly productivity, and deferred self-care. Conclusions: The pandemic has not affected faculty equally. Early and mid-career individuals were impacted negatively from increased workloads, stress, and decreased self-care. Academic leaders need to acknowledge these differences and be inclusive of faculty with different experiences when adjusting workplace or promotion policies.

Reichelt M., Makovi K., Sargsyan A.

COVID-19 and ensuing changes in mobility have altered employment relations for millions of people across the globe. Emerging evidence shows that women may be more severely affected by this change. ...

Darmody M., Smyth E., Russell H.

Azevedo L., Shi W., Medina P.S., Bagwell M.T.

Transitioning from doctoral student to assistant professor involves many changes for junior faculty beginning tenure-track careers. Research, teaching, and service demands, on top of adjusting to a...

Myers K.R., Tham W.Y., Yin Y., Cohodes N., Thursby J.G., Thursby M.C., Schiffer P., Walsh J.T., Lakhani K.R., Wang D.

COVID-19 has not affected all scientists equally. A survey of principal investigators indicates that female scientists, those in the ‘bench sciences’ and, especially, scientists with young children experienced a substantial decline in time devoted to research. This could have important short- and longer-term effects on their careers, which institution leaders and funders need to address carefully.

Pautz M.C., Vogel M.D.

Discussions of work-life balance challenges among members of the academy abound and this study contributes to those conversations by taking a step back and investigating faculty motivation. We cont...

Bagwell M.T., Fiedler B.A.

Sedentary behavior is a global problem contributing to a variety of noncommunicable diseases leading to premature mortality in nearly 1 out of 10 people in the world population. This qualitative content analysis reviewed recent research to investigate the health effects of sitting and sedentary work. This study recommends an adaptive strategy for behavioral change toward an optimal and active work-life balance, using the frameworks of Self-Efficacy Theory and Goal Setting Theory, and also prescribes intervention approach recommendations from synthesized findings. Major findings include the identification of six optimal behavior change approaches to modify and/or decrease sedentary inactivity, including (1) redesigning the physical environment and adding devices, objects, or tools to the environment; (2) outcome goal setting; (3) behavioral self-monitoring; (4) information on health consequences of sedentary behavior with directions on how to perform behaviors; (5) having social support; and (6) receiving advice or feedback on behavior.

Landivar L.C., Ruppanner L., Scarborough W.J., Collins C.

In this data visualization, the authors examine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in the United States has affected labor force participation, unemployment, and work hours across gender and parental status. Using data from the Current Population Survey, the authors compare estimates between February and April 2020 to examine the period of time before the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States to the height of the first wave, when stay-at-home orders were issued across the country. The findings illustrate that women, particularly mothers, have employment disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Mothers are more likely than fathers to exit the labor force and become unemployed. Among heterosexual married couples of which both partners work in telecommuting-capable occupations, mothers have scaled back their work hours to a far greater extent than fathers. These patterns suggest that the COVID-19 crisis is already worsening existing gender inequality, with long-term implications for women’s employment.

Rauhaus B.M., Carr I.A.

Female faculty members in public service programs take on a disproportionate amount of advising and mentoring responsibilities yet are less likely to be in leadership positions at universities. Wom...

Knepper H.J., Scutelnicu G., Tekula R.

This study is the first to examine the research productivity of public administration faculty by gender through the perceptions of full-time faculty members at NASPAA-accredited schools. It specifi...

Edwards L.H., Holmes M.H., Sowa J.E.

The representation of women in faculty roles within universities broadly and within public affairs departments specifically has been evolving over the past three decades. However, diversifying gend...

Chung H., van der Lippe T.

This special brings together innovative and multidisciplinary research (sociology, economics, and social work) using data from across Europe and the US to examine the potential flexible working has on the gender division of labour and workers’ work–life balance. Despite numerous studies on the gendered outcomes of flexible working, it is limited in that the majority is based on qualitative studies based in the US. The papers of this special issue overcome some of the limitations by examining the importance of context, namely, family, organisational and country context, examining the intersection between gender and class, and finally examining the outcomes for different types of flexible working arrangements. The introduction to this special issue provides a review of the existing literature on the gendered outcomes of flexible working on work life balance and other work and family outcomes, before presenting the key findings of the articles of this special issue. The results of the studies show that gender matters in understanding the outcomes of flexible working, but also it matters differently in different contexts. The introduction further provides policy implications drawn from the conclusions of the studies and some thoughts for future studies to consider.

Owens J., Kottwitz C., Tiedt J., Ramirez J.

Background: Achieving work-life balance can be a challenge for academic faculty members. The multifaceted demands and expectations of the role can affect faculty satisfaction and the ability to attain work-life balance. The ever-changing trends in higher education, including technology and online education modalities provide additional factors that can inhibit faculty satisfaction and work-life balance.Aims: This paper explores barriers to achieving work-life balance such as cognitive dissonance, emotional dissonance and burnout. Understanding barriers is essential to developing strategies to promote work-life balance.Methods: An integrated review of the literature on life balance of academic faculty in all disciplines using multiple online databases.Conclusion: Strategies, organized around mentoring and self-care, include promoting physical health, connecting socially, and practicing mindfulness as a cognitive approach can help counteract work-place stressors and help in achieving work-life balance.

Baptiste D., Fecher A.M., Dolejs S.C., Yoder J., Schmidt C.M., Couch M.E., Ceppa D.P.

An increasing number of women are pursuing a career in surgery. Concurrently, the percentage of surgeons in dual-profession partnerships is increasing. We sought to evaluate the gender differences in professional advancement, work-life balance, and satisfaction at a large academic center.All surgical trainees and faculty at a single academic medical center were surveyed. Collected variables included gender, academic rank, marital status, family size, division of household responsibilities, and career satisfaction. Student t-test, Fisher's exact test, and chi-square test were used to compare results.There were 127 faculty and 116 trainee respondents (>80% response rate). Respondents were mostly male (77% of faculty, 58% of trainees). Women were more likely than men to be married to a professional (90% versus 37%, for faculty; 82% versus 41% for trainees, P < 0.001 for both) who was working full time (P < 0.001) and were less likely to be on tenure track (P = 0.002). Women faculty were more likely to be primarily responsible for childcare planning (P < 0.001), meal planning (P < 0.001), grocery shopping (P < 0.001), and vacation planning (P = 0.003). Gender-neutral responsibilities included financial planning (P = 0.04) and monthly bill payment (P = 0.03). Gender differences in division of household responsibilities were similar in surgical trainees except for childcare planning, which was a shared responsibility.Women surgeons are more likely to be partnered with a full-time working spouse and to be primarily responsible for managing their households. Additional consideration for improvement in recruitment and retention strategies for surgeons might address barriers to equalizing these gender disparities.

O’Meara K., Kuvaeva A., Nyunt G., Waugaman C., Jackson R.

Phillips J.N., Olejarski A.M., Neal S.M., Neale-McFall C.

Černič Istenič M.

AbstractThe challenges of work-life balance, gender equality in work and family life, and changing social norms‒responsible parenthood and safe and healthy working conditions‒have been widely discussed and addressed in literature, policy documents, and the media for decades. Since the early days of rural studies, the family farm has been widely recognized as a special unit of production, consumption, and lifestyle. However, the lifestyle of family farms, including work-life balance, has received little attention or consideration in policy and academic debates, particularly in Europe. Based on these observations, this paper discusses the results of two consecutive studies on working conditions on farms in Slovenia, with a focus on work-life balance in the case of maternity/parental leave on farms. The first study is based on structured interviews with 60 adult members of family farms of both genders conducted in 2018/2019, and the second study is based on semi-structured interviews with 23 farmers of both genders from different parts of the country, conducted in 2021/2022. The stories of the two groups of research participants are assessed and discussed against the background of the current scholarly debate on work-life balance in farming context and the recently adopted institutional framework for work-life balance in the European Union.