Understanding the Dynamism of Determinants of Work Life Balance of Health Workers in Assam, India with Special Reference to COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

As the focus of development of human society has shifted from economic development to human development, work-life balance (WLB) becomes the centre of its discussion. WLB is important for any individual to enhance the overall well-being of workers in professional and personal lives. In 21st-century, the life of health workers is full of stress which results from emotional demands of their roles. To prevent burnout, reduce stress, and enhance overall well-being from the intensive nature of healthcare jobs, adequate measures need to be taken to improve job satisfaction, boost performance, and lead to better patient care. Developing a culture with healthy work-life balance for health workers may fosters resilience and longevity in their careers. Healthy WLB will ensure that the health workers remain effective and compassionate in their roles while maintaining their own physical and mental health. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also imposed huge pressure on the life of health workers and force them to render services even without safety gadget. This study has been conducted to understand the nature of WLB of health workers in Assam in general during COVID-19 pandemic and also tried to investigate the determinants of WLB of the health-workers. Causal research has been conducted with 510 samples with 353 doctors and 157 nurses from 66 hospitals across the state which includes both government and private hospitals. Most of the earlier researches on WLB focused on constant determinants of WLB and suggested recommendation on the constant parameters. But in this study, the objective was to investigate the dynamic nature of WLB and whether the determinants of WLB remain same during pandemic and non-pandemic period and for health-workers of government and private hospitals. The result of the study identifies that WLB is very dynamic in nature for health workers and determinants get changed with situational demand and also along with the work-culture or controlling mechanism. So, the policy makers should use the contingency approach for providing solutions to overcome poor WLB.