Women's lived experiences of work from home in India during Covid-19: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

The outbreak of Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on every aspect of our lives. It led to numerous challenges due to its suddenness, and the consequent sudden influx of many young women professionals to their parents' houses, leading to re-negotiation of boundaries. The present study examines women's unique experiences through detailed idiographic and in-depth analysis as they navigated the multifaceted journey of working from home during Covid-19. Interpretative phenomenological analysis is implemented as a method of data collection, and interpretation. The dataset comprises semi-structured interviews with ten young single professional Indian women working in the investment banking sector. Data analysis yielded two overarching themes: Encountering difficulties in transitioning from the physical mode of working to work from home (WFH) resulting in frustration, anger, feeling overburdened etc., and Covid-19 pandemic, health, and well-being. Results illustrated that the sudden transition to WFH intensified women's workload, causing unbridled role-conflict and boundary-conflict, which contributed to work-life imbalance, a sedentary lifestyle, and led to a state of powerlessness, hopelessness, and anxiety about the future. By focusing on the lived experiences of young female Indian professionals during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the present study contributed significantly to the emerging literature on WFH.