Impact of Covid 19 on Work-Life Balance of Asha Workers at Thrissur District, Kerala
Linta M R
1and Dr. A S Ambily
21M Phil. Research Scholar, Department of Commerce and Management, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham School
of Arts and Science, Kochi, India
2Assistant Professor, (Selection Grade), HOD Department of Commerce and Management, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham School of Arts and Science, Kochi, India
Article History: Received: 11 January 2021; Revised: 12 February 2021; Accepted: 27 March 2021;
Published online: 23 May 2021
Abstract: Work-life balance is a notion which identifies and prioritizes anemployee’s time for family, career, health, society, etc. and maintaining a balance between all. This study analyses the work-life balance of Asha workers at Thrissur district and relates its impacts on the work environment, individual issues, workload, and personal life.The obligation of Asha staff has increased massively as the pandemic goes out of hand. Asha workers are deployed to perform door calls, keep an eye on migrant employees, touch tracing, etc. The pandemic has meant more working hours and personal risk. As a consequence, Asha suffers from high levels of tension, anxiety, and an unpleasant, unbalanced, harmonious family life.
Key words: Covid-19, Pandemic, Asha, Work-Life Balance, Work Environment, Individual Issues, Workload, Personal Life.
Introduction
ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) a primary healthcare figurehead acknowledged in 2005 by Indian Ministry of Health and Welfare, which creates knowledge and capacity for local health and promotes the use of existing health services and their accountability. Through a robust selection process involving different community heads, officers at District, Block and village levels Asha are selected. There are 859,331 ASHAs in 32 states and union territories. By July 2009 in Kerala, 30909 ASHAs were selected and 27904 ASHAs were trained and deployed in the field. Asha workers are more in field work reaching nook and corner of each ward in a village for periodic check-ups and scheduling immunisation for babies, TB patients, pregnant ladies, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, palliative and Mental Health care units. Asha finds it hard to balance her job and personal life over the strain of work and inadequate transport.
Work- Life Balance is a concept that indicates all working practises that present and assist workers' interests in striking a balance among family and job requirements. It also strikes a balance between work and personal life and how employees prioritise time and commitment in and out of work. In all aspects of life, the aim is to build equilibrium, which in turn improves career and self-fulfilment and helps avoid self-injury induced by excessive tension or stress. For some time, women have advanced dramatically in each area of employment and made significant progress in all the fields involved. But the position of the housekeeper has not changed significantly. Women also do household work in most households, cook, take care of family members, and maintain the property. The work-life balance of female workers is at risk, with increasing demands at work and home. The obligation of Asha staff has increased exponentially as the pandemic goes out of control. Asha staffs are also a vital part of the medical supply chain, especially for pregnant mothers, and have been given the task of taking medications from the clinic and dropping them off at the doorsteps of patients if necessary. It confirms the fact that Asha employees feel burdened and stressed because of the nature of their job, which has increased in the current circumstances in many ways. Whatever Kerala has accomplished in its struggle against Covid 19 it is mainly due to its health workers in the health system.
Review of Literature
The earliest view of the job-home relationship was that they are segmented and autonomous and do not influence each other. This notion was extended to blue-collar workers by Blood and Wolfe (1960). They asserted that the division of work and home is a rational process for workers in unsatisfactory or uninvolved jobs. Work and family exist as separate entities in the principle of segmentation; there is no connection between job life and family life. The principle of segmentation perceives work and family to be different entities and perceptions in one will not impact or influence experiences in the other. In 2012, Dan Wheatley undertook a study in UK organizations on work-life balance and trips to women's standards and policies. He found that workgroup culture and discharge among work and non-work tasks avoided them from achieving the desired work-life balance.
A study was undertaken to relate the personal and professional lives of women in the service sector of Chennai city by V. Varatharaj and S. Vasantha in 2012. The result of the study showed that most women workers regardless of their trivial personal and organizational irritants, feel secure in their workplace, and to
achieve an everyday life goal, better control of emotion is also important. B. S Kadam in 2012undertook a study in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation on the work-life balance of women drivers, where he inferred that most of the women drivers can balance personal and professional life except some who needed some flexible working policies and arrangements.
Narayanan and Savarimuthu in 2013 suggested that family dispute has increased with increased job participation for working women professionals in IT companies in India. Women with children and dependents needed the help of family members and friends to handle work-life conflict-related issues. The study concluded that the women workers life balance depends on the child's life stage, which determines the overall work-life balance level. A comparative study on married and unmarried women’s work-work-life balance was undertaken in 2012, ShivanadanaRohini and Dr. Ashok H SS reported that married women had a comparatively high level of psychological well-being and a higher level of stress compared to unmarried women. On the other side, unmarried women do tend to have different roles with authority and a better degree of satisfaction in family life.. In 2011, Rincy V Mathew with N Panchanatham found , the renowned thing that impacts work life balance of Indian women is overwork, health problems, level of care, management of time and lack of adequate welfare support.
Statement Of The Problem
ASHA is a voluntary community wellbeing leader who raises awareness about health. The population is mobilized towards local health planning and its social determinants and increased use and transparency of current programs in public health. She is a member of the promoter of good practices for wellbeing. Their service reach is mainly in the rural area, where even proper road and transportation facility could not be found.
The pandemic Covid -19 has affected every person has even affected the Asha personally and professionally. The amount of time and pressure on work has increased tremendously that managing and balancing personal and professional life has become difficult.
This research was carried out to understand the effect of Covid-19 on Asha workers' work-life balance. Objectives
•
To examine the effect of the workload and work environment on the work-life balance in the Thrissur district of Asha employees.•
To analyse the association between family type and Asha workload in the district of Thrissur.•
To evaluate the relationship between family type and work load of Asha workers in Thrissur district.•
To evaluate the relationship of Family Type and Marital Status on the Asha workers working-lifebalance in the district of Thrissur.
•
To understand and correlate between the impact of job loss and Individual Issues during the pandemic of Asha workers in Thrissur district.Hypothesis
• H01=The workload and working environment have no major effect on the work-life balance of Asha
workers.
• H02= Asha's work-life balance is not influenced by individual issues and personal life.
• H03= There is no significant relationship between the type of family and Asha workers' workload.
• H04=There is no significant relationship of both family type and marital status on the Asha workers
work-life balance.
• H05=There is no correlation between the impact of job loss and Individual Issue during the pandemic
of Asha workers
Research Methodology
The analysis is inherently descriptive. primary and secondary data are used in the study. Different official websites provide secondary data while primary data are collected directly from various offices through direct interviews and well-defined questionnaires. The district of Thrissur is considered to be an area for data collection.50 Asha employees have been selected from the central and the southern portion of Thrissur district.For selecting sample data, a simple random sample method is employed.
The statistical tools used in the study are two way ANOVA, Simple Regression, Multiple Regression and Correlation.
Analysis And Interpretation
For the Study of Impact of Covid 19 on work-life balance of Asha worker the analysis has been done in the following ways
Table 1: Socio-Demographic Profile of Respondent
VARIABLES CATEGORY NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE Age (in years)
Up to 30 - 31-45 27 54 45 and above 23 46 Education Schooling 35 70.0 Graduate 13 26.0 Postgraduate 2 4.0 Marital status Married 47 94.0 Widow 3 6.0 Divorcee - -
Socioeconomic status Lower class 37 74.0
Middle class 13 26.0
Family Type Nuclear 31 62.0
Joint 19 38.0
Location Of Living Rural 45 90.0
Urban 5 10.0
No. Of Earning Members
1 2 4.0 2 40 80.0 above 2 8 16.0 Year Of Experience 2-5 6 12.0 5-10 13 26.0 above 10 31 62.0
Source: Primary Data Interpretation
Table 1 indicates that the age range of 54% of respondents is 31-45while 46 percent belong to the age of 45 and above and no one comes below 30. The education qualification varies where 70 percent of Asha workers have schooling as the highest qualification, 26 percentage are graduates and 4 percentage are Post Graduates.62 percentage of respondents have work experience more than 10years, while 26 percent of respondents have experience between 5-10 years and12 percentage respondents between 2-5 years. Out of total respondents, 94 percentage Asha workers are married while 6 percentages are widowed. In the case of Socioeconomic status, 74 percentage are lower class and 26 percentage are middle class.62 percent of respondents have a nuclear family while 38 percent have a joint family .90 percentage of respondents are from the rural area and the remaining 10 percent from urban.4% of respondents have just 1 earning member, 80% of respondents have 2 earning members and 16% have more than 2 earning members in their family..
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics
Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Education 50 1.00 3.00 1.3400 .55733
Marital status 50 1.00 2.00 1.0600 .23990
Socio economic status 50 1.00 2.00 1.2600 .44309
Family type 50 1.00 2.00 1.3800 .49031
Location of living 50 1.00 2.00 1.1000 .30305
No. Of earning members 50 1.00 3.00 2.1200 .43519
No. Of experience 50 2.00 15.00 8.6200 4.18886
Improvement in social status 50 1.00 3.00 2.3600 .56279 Covid effect on the financial
condition 50 1.00 2.00 1.0800 .27405
Family members job loss 50 1.00 2.00 1.1000 .30305
Effect and impact of job loss 50 1.00 3.00 1.4800 .61412 Time spent at work during covid 50 1.00 3.00 1.8000 .69985
Interpretation
Table 2 explains that Asha Workers' social status has not at all increased as the mean score shown in 2.36. the covid has greatly affected the financial position of the Asha with a mean score of 1.08. The mean score of 1.10 shows that most of the family members lost the job due to Covid 19.covid-19 has greatly affected their living with a mean of 1.48.
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics on the Workload of Asha Workers During Pandemic Work Load of Asha
Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation The job keeps me away 50 1.00 4.00 2.6400 .59796
Often forget to eat 50 2.00 4.00 3.0000 .83299
Late at home 50 1.00 3.00 2.7000 .50508
More work to handle 50 4.00 4.00 4.0000 .00000
Noncooperative patience at
health centre` 50 3.00 5.00 3.5800 .67279
Added tasks to work 50 2.00 5.00 3.9400 .89008
Loose of temper and patient 50 1.00 4.00 2.0800 .80407 Valid N (list wise) 50
Interpretation
Table 3 reveals that More work is handled than usual like keeping an eye on quarantine people with a mean of 4 and Additional duties like medical supplies to home for older people are added to duty so showing a higher mean of 3.94. The mean 2.640 specifies that job keeps Asha workers away as less because most of their duty is fieldwork and they are used to it.
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics on Individual Issue of Asha Workers during Pandemic Individual Issues
Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Systematic plan failure 50 2.00 5.00 3.0600 .93481 Fail to complete the task 50 2.00 5.00 4.0800 .75160 More importance to work
than health 50 2.00 5.00 3.4800 .81416
Miss personal events 50 1.00 3.00 2.0000 .69985
Stressed and emotionally
drained 50 2.00 5.00 2.7600 .82214
Less concentration due to
disturbed environment 50 1.00 3.00 2.1800 .71969 Valid N (listwise) 50
Interpretation
Table 4 reveals that Most of the respondents fail to complete the personal and work task on time with the highest mean score of 4.08 followed by more importance to work than health with a mean score of 3.48. The lowest mean of 2.18 is for less concentration due to the disturbed environment, specifying that the pandemic situation has not weakened them.
Table 5: Descriptive Statistics on work Environment of Asha Worker during Pandemic Work Environment
Variables N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Lack of manpower 50 1.00 4.00 2.6200 .66670
Unsafe work environment 50 3.00 5.00 4.3400 .71742 Safety measures by local
bodies 50 2.00 5.00 3.4400 .64397
Additional duties 50 2.00 4.00 2.6800 .71257
More time for remuneration
settlement 50 1.00 4.00 2.3600 .63116
Valid N (listwise) 50 Interpretation
Table 5 indicates that the working environment is very unsafe to work with the mean score of 4.34. The safety measures are given by local bodies like glows. Mask and face shield are not sufficient as the means is 3.44. The mean of 2.36 shows that not much time is taken for remuneration settlement and that they were paid on lockdown period too.
Table 6: Descriptive Statistics on Personal Life satisfaction of Asha Workers during Pandemic Personal Life Satisfaction
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Enough time to spend with
family 50 2.00 3.00 2.6200 .49031
Quality time with children 50 1.00 3.00 2.1400 .72871 Spouse support in family
matters 50 1.00 4.00 2.9800 .79514
Weekend leisure time 50 1.00 3.00 2.1800 .74751
Family understanding the
importance of my work 50 2.00 4.00 2.9400 .73983
Valid N (listwise) 50 Interpretation
Table 6 reveal that respondents' spouse support in family matters is moderate with a mean of 2.98. 2.94 mean shows that family understanding of the importance of my work is moderate. The lowest mean of 2.14 shows the quality time spent with children is less with the increase in duty.
Testing of Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1: The Work Load and Work Environment influence on Asha Workers Work Life Balance
• H01.1= workload has no major effect on the work-life balance of Asha workers.
• H01.2= work environment has no major effect no Work-Life Balance.
• H01.3=workload and working environment have no major effect on the work-life balance of Asha
workers.
• H11.1= work load has major effect on Work-Life Balance.
• H11.2=work environment has major effect on Work-Life Balance.
Table 7: Tests of Between- Work Load and Work Environment Source Type III Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected model .786a 23 .034 1.914 .058
Intercept 225.567 1 225.567 1.264E4 .000
Work load .181 6 .030 1.686 .166
Work environment .265 5 .053 2.970 .031
Work Load Work
environment .195 12 .016 .912 .549
Error .446 25 .018
Total 422.592 49
Corrected Total 1.232 48
Table 7 states that
• The significant value for Total work Load is 0.166 greater than 0.05, indicates that the Total work Load does not influence WLB.
• The significant value for Total Work Environment is 0.031 less than 0.05, indicates that total work Environment influences WLB.
• The significant value for Total work Load * Total Work Environment is 0.549 greater than 0.05, indicates that total work Load and Total Work Environment do not influence Work Life Balance. Hypothesis 2: Individual Issues and Personal Life Influence on Asha workers Work Life Balance. • H01=Asha's work-life balance is not influenced by individual issues.
• H02=Asha's work-life balance is not influenced by personal life.
• H03- Asha's work-life balance is not influenced by individual issues and personal life.
• H11=Asha's work-life balance is influenced by individual issues
• H12=Asha's work-life balance is influenced by personal life.
• H13 =Asha's work-life balance is influenced by individual issues and personal life.
Table 8: Tests of Between: Individual Issues and Personal Life Influence Source Type III Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected model 1.127a 31 .036 5.844 .000
Intercept 218.322 1 218.322 3.511E4 .000
Individual issue .312 8 .039 6.267 .001
Personal life .411 7 .059 9.450 .000
Individual issue * Personal
life .116 16 .007 1.163 .379
Error .106 17 .006
Total 422.592 49
Corrected Total 1.232 48
Table 8 confirms that
• The significant value for Total Individual Interest is 0.001 less than 0.05, indicates that total individual interest influences Work-Life-Balance.
• The significant value for Total Personal Life is 0.000 less than 0.05, indicates that total Personal life influences Work-Life-Balance.
The significant value for Total Individual Interest* Total Personal Life is 0.379 greater than 0.05, indicates that total individual interest and total Personal life does not influence Work-Life-Balance.
Hypothesis 3:-Change in Family Type changes Total Work Load • H0- Family Type has no significant relationship with Total workload. • H1- Family type has a significant relationship with Total workload.
Table 9: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R
Square
Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .295a .087 .068 .19185
Table 9 shows the
• Correlation between Family Type and Total work Load, where ‘R’ value of .295 reveals that these variables are weekly related.
• R square is .087, showing an 8.7% variation in total Work Load caused by the Family type. Table 10: ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression .168 1 .168 4.576 .038a
Residual 1.767 48 .037
Total 1.935 49
Table 10 ANOVA Statistics shows
The significant value of 0.038 which is less than 0.05 resulting that the overall regression model is significant, thus the null hypothesis is rejected.
Table 11: Coefficients
Model 1
(Constant) FAMILY TYPE Unstandardized Coefficients B 3.299 -.120
Std. Error .082 .056
Standardized Coefficients Beta -.295
T 40.349 -2.139
Sig. .000 .038
95% Confidence Interval for B Lower Bound 3.135 -.232 Upper Bound 3.464 -.007
• The above Regression coefficient Table 11 the coefficient for the total workload is -0.07 which is significant at P-value as the value is negative.
• This states that the family type and Total workload have a negative relationship. Hypothesis 4: Marital Status and Family Type Relation with Work-Life-Balance
• H0- Marital Status and the type of Family have no remarkable relationship with Work-Life-Balance. • H1- Marital Status and the type of Family have remarkable relationship with Work-Life-Balance.
Table12: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R
Square
Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .289a .083 .044 .15577
Table 12 shows
• The correlation between marital status and type of family on Work Life Balance, where the 'R' value of .289 reveals that these variables are weekly related.
• R square is .083, showing an 8.3% variation in Work-Life-Balance caused by the type of family and marital status.
Table 13: ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression .104 2 .052 2.137 .129a
Residual 1.140 47 .024
Total 1.244 49
Table 13 ANOVA Statistics shows
The significant value of 0.129 which is More than 0.05 resulting that the overall regression model is insignificant, thus the null hypothesis is accepted.
Table 14: Coefficients of Marital Status & Family Type Model Unstandardized Coefficients
Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 2.738 .120 22.832 .000 Marital status .191 .093 .287 2.056 .045 Family type -.007 .045 -.023 -.163 .871
In Table 14 the value of regression coefficient between marital status and Work-Life-Balance is 0.45 so the work-life-balance by marital status has a positive and important effect. However the regression coefficient value of Family type on Work-Life-Balance is 0.871 which is insignificant, thus can be stated that marital status has no impact on Work-Life-Balance.
Hypothesis 5
To analyze the correlation between the impact of job loss and individual issue during the pandemic Table 15: Correlations of Job Loss and Individual Issue
Effect and impact of job loss of family
members
Individual issues
Effect and impact of job loss of family members Pearson Correlation 1 -.208 Sig. (2-tailed) .148 N 50 50 Individual issues Pearson Correlation -.208 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .148 N 50 50
Table 15 shows the correlation as -.208 and p-value .148 reveals that there exists a negative relationship between the variables. The outcome also specifies that exists an insignificant and negative relationship between the effects of job loss of family members on the Total Individual Issue of Asha Workers.
Major Findings
• Covid 19 has affected the working environment of the Asha workers, as they come in more contact with the society by coordinating with the local authority in supplying essentials to the covid patients and contact tracings etc.
• This study points that personal life influences work-life balance
• The work environment is unsafe as they come in more contract with covid patients, negative attitude of some make emotionally drained, even safety measure should be made more available.
• As covid also has resulted in job loss, so based on that a relation of job loss of a family member and the personal issue is undertaken. The outcome specifies a negative relationship between them as compensations were paid to Asha workers even during the lockdown period.
• . Individual issues of Asha too influence the Work-life balance as longevity at work has disturbed the systematic flow of work which made them stressed and emotionally drained. This in turn had an impact on the personal life of Asha worker
• This research also shows that the family type and workload of Asha employees are linked in a negative way. The relationship of marital status and family form was also achieved where marital status has a positively significant influence on the process of working life as a family.
• The outcome also specifies that there exists an insignificant and negative relationship between the effect of the job of family members on the Individual issues of Asha workers.
Conclusions
ASHA are the foot soldiers of the health department and the grass root functionaries who drive the health policy. The government must consider for appropriate work-life balance as the pandemic has been for a while and in the long run, Asha would find it difficult to balance work and home. This research studies the balance between work and life in four areas such as the environment, individual issues, workload and individual satisfaction. The research shows that Asha employees' work-life balance in the Thrissur district has an impact on the working environment. There exist a Positive and significant impact of Marital status on Work-life balance. This study also describes that personal life affects Asha's balance between work and life.
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