The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis
(1) Background: This paper aims to present and discuss the most significant challenges encountered by STEM professionals associated with remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (2) Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of 921 responses from professionals from 76 countries to the open-en...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161406 |
| _version_ | 1824453670276694016 |
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| author | Bezak, Eva Carson-Chahhoud, Kristin V. Marcu, Loredana G. Stoeva, Magdalena Lhotska, Lenka Barabino, Gilda A. Ibrahim, Fatimah Kaldoudi, Eleni Lim, Sierin Da Silva, Ana Maria Marques Tan, Peck Ha Tsapaki, Virginia Frize, Monique |
| author2 | School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Bezak, Eva Carson-Chahhoud, Kristin V. Marcu, Loredana G. Stoeva, Magdalena Lhotska, Lenka Barabino, Gilda A. Ibrahim, Fatimah Kaldoudi, Eleni Lim, Sierin Da Silva, Ana Maria Marques Tan, Peck Ha Tsapaki, Virginia Frize, Monique |
| author_sort | Bezak, Eva |
| collection | NTU |
| description | (1) Background: This paper aims to present and discuss the most significant challenges encountered by STEM professionals associated with remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (2) Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of 921 responses from professionals from 76 countries to the open-ended question: "What has been most challenging during the lockdown for you, and/or your family?" (3) Findings: Participants reported challenges within the immediate family to include responsibilities for school, childcare, and children's wellbeing; and the loss of social interactions with family and friends. Participants reported increased domestic duties, blurred lines between home and work, and long workdays. Finding adequate workspace was a problem, and adaptations were necessary, especially when adults shared the same setting for working and childcare. Connectivity issues and concentration difficulties emerged. While some participants reported employers' expectations did not change, others revealed concerns about efficiency. Mental health issues were expressed as anxiety and depression symptoms, exhaustion and burnout, and no outlets for stress. Fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 and uncertainties about the future also emerged. Pressure points related to gender, relationship status, and ethnicities were also evaluated. Public policies differed substantially across countries, raising concerns about the adherence to unnecessary restrictions, and similarly, restrictions being not tight enough. Beyond challenges, some benefits emerged, such as increased productivity and less time spent getting ready for work and commuting. Confinement resulted in more quality time and stronger relationships with family. (4) Interpretation: Viewpoints on positive and negative aspects of remote working differed by gender. Females were more affected professionally, socially, and personally than males. Mental stress and the feeling of inadequate work efficiency in women were caused by employers' expectations and lack of flexibility. Working from home turned out to be challenging, primarily due to a lack of preparedness, limited access to a dedicated home-office, and lack of previous experience in multi-layer/multi-scale environments. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:10:06Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/161406 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:10:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1614062023-12-29T06:53:18Z The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis Bezak, Eva Carson-Chahhoud, Kristin V. Marcu, Loredana G. Stoeva, Magdalena Lhotska, Lenka Barabino, Gilda A. Ibrahim, Fatimah Kaldoudi, Eleni Lim, Sierin Da Silva, Ana Maria Marques Tan, Peck Ha Tsapaki, Virginia Frize, Monique School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Engineering::Bioengineering COVID-19 Impact Biomedical Fields (1) Background: This paper aims to present and discuss the most significant challenges encountered by STEM professionals associated with remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (2) Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of 921 responses from professionals from 76 countries to the open-ended question: "What has been most challenging during the lockdown for you, and/or your family?" (3) Findings: Participants reported challenges within the immediate family to include responsibilities for school, childcare, and children's wellbeing; and the loss of social interactions with family and friends. Participants reported increased domestic duties, blurred lines between home and work, and long workdays. Finding adequate workspace was a problem, and adaptations were necessary, especially when adults shared the same setting for working and childcare. Connectivity issues and concentration difficulties emerged. While some participants reported employers' expectations did not change, others revealed concerns about efficiency. Mental health issues were expressed as anxiety and depression symptoms, exhaustion and burnout, and no outlets for stress. Fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 and uncertainties about the future also emerged. Pressure points related to gender, relationship status, and ethnicities were also evaluated. Public policies differed substantially across countries, raising concerns about the adherence to unnecessary restrictions, and similarly, restrictions being not tight enough. Beyond challenges, some benefits emerged, such as increased productivity and less time spent getting ready for work and commuting. Confinement resulted in more quality time and stronger relationships with family. (4) Interpretation: Viewpoints on positive and negative aspects of remote working differed by gender. Females were more affected professionally, socially, and personally than males. Mental stress and the feeling of inadequate work efficiency in women were caused by employers' expectations and lack of flexibility. Working from home turned out to be challenging, primarily due to a lack of preparedness, limited access to a dedicated home-office, and lack of previous experience in multi-layer/multi-scale environments. Published version Funding has been received from the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM) towards data analysis. 2022-08-31T01:59:03Z 2022-08-31T01:59:03Z 2022 Journal Article Bezak, E., Carson-Chahhoud, K. V., Marcu, L. G., Stoeva, M., Lhotska, L., Barabino, G. A., Ibrahim, F., Kaldoudi, E., Lim, S., Da Silva, A. M. M., Tan, P. H., Tsapaki, V. & Frize, M. (2022). The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(5), 3109-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19053109 1661-7827 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161406 10.3390/ijerph19053109 35270801 2-s2.0-85125578046 5 19 3109 en International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Engineering::Bioengineering COVID-19 Impact Biomedical Fields Bezak, Eva Carson-Chahhoud, Kristin V. Marcu, Loredana G. Stoeva, Magdalena Lhotska, Lenka Barabino, Gilda A. Ibrahim, Fatimah Kaldoudi, Eleni Lim, Sierin Da Silva, Ana Maria Marques Tan, Peck Ha Tsapaki, Virginia Frize, Monique The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title | The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title_full | The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title_fullStr | The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title_short | The biggest challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in biomedical fields—world-wide qualitative survey analysis |
| title_sort | biggest challenges resulting from the covid 19 pandemic on gender related work from home in biomedical fields world wide qualitative survey analysis |
| topic | Engineering::Bioengineering COVID-19 Impact Biomedical Fields |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161406 |
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