Psychological Distress and Job Satisfaction among Working Mothers during COVID-19

 Psychological Distress and Job Satisfaction among Working Mothers during COVID-19

 Author Name: Shaista Maqbool

laureatefolks@gmail.com, WhatsApp: +923334446261

Introduction

The basic aim of this conceptual research report is to explore the determinants that contribute to the level of psychological distress that working mothers face, as well as its relation to their level of job satisfaction during the pandemic. “Psychological distress (PD)” is a mental health problem that is characterized by combinations of undifferentiated symptoms that range from anxiety (i.e., feeling restless and, tense), depression (i.e., feeling of despair, loss of interest and low mood) and stress to other somatic complaints (i.e., headache, low energy, and sleeplessness), personality traits and behavioural issues (Arvindsdotter, Marklund & Kylen, 2016). As broadly explained by the stress-distress model, PD is the emotional turmoil caused by exposure of an individual to a stressor that threatens his or her physical or mental wellbeing and the ineffective coping strategies to deal with such stressful events (Horwitz, 2009).

In 1989, Hobfoll presented a stress theory that assumed that stress occurs in three circumstances: when there is a threat to lose a resource, when an actual resource is lost, lack of gain after the spending of resources. Based on this theory, healthy juggling between work and family routine was only expected to be stressful in those women who lacked resourcefulness (i.e., skills of self-control) to manage multiple roles. Moreover, lack of emotional support from their life partners was also considered to be a determinant that leads to psychological distress because it might be perceived as the women failed to be good mothers and wives.  

The pandemic COVID-19 has shaken up the megastructure throughout the world, the economic recession has created various barriers and has negatively impacted the mental health of people. During the initial phase of the pandemic, almost 4 in 10 mothers in the U.S. reported symptoms of psychological distress. According to a Health tracking poll conducted by KFF in July 2020, many adults including 15 % of working mothers reported isolation, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, job loss and substance use to have negatively impacted their mental health thus lead to psychological distress (Hamel, Kearney, Kirzinger & Lopes, 2020).

CARE International conducted a survey which revealed that although the majority of the population all over the world have experienced an increased level of stress and isolation since the pandemic started it has had a devastating impact on the mental health of women. Women reported rising psychological stress, anxiety and mental health challenges as compared to men. Even before the pandemic started, women are twice likely to experience symptoms of depression and psychological distress, there are other determinants that might contribute including societal pressures and norms, role-specific traditional norms, and ineffective coping strategies. Almost 55% of women revealed that pandemic has impacted their jobs as the majority work in the informal sector and have closer to no unemployment benefits (Atlanta, 2020). 

Psychological distress and job satisfaction may vary in gender across cultures. As per the previous studies conducted on cultural differences, women working in the Western world tend to report symptoms of psychological distress including depression and symptoms of anxiety as compared to men. Explanation to this prospect of gender differences involves other factors like biological, social, and psychological, as expectations and roles for women and men differ. Moreover, it was revealed that one factor that contributes to the gender difference in the level of psychological distress include challenges faced in combining the work and family-related roles.

A meta-analysis revealed that lower job satisfaction is highly associated with high psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and burnout. Although no gender differences are found to associate with job satisfaction level. Women tend to face low levels of job satisfaction because they are less likely to get managerial positions and have relatively low salaries (Faragher, Cass, & Cooper, 2005).  

Rationale

Although the total number of working mothers is relatively increasing in Pakistan, they make up a peculiar category of females whose personal experiences vary qualitatively from other stays at home mothers. In Pakistani society, working mothers have been endured lately with pressure and workload due to the patriarchal mindset, when it comes to maintaining a balance between their homes and work routines as there are different expectations from women as compared to men. The rate of mental health problems is rising gradually because of the cultural and societal expectations, work-related stressors and individual priority of goals regarding careers. Hence, the study undertakes to explore the causal determinants that lead working mothers to face psychological distress and how it is related to their level of job satisfaction. This study can help in future by spreading awareness regarding the determinants that can lead to psychological distress and job satisfaction. Moreover, it will help in illuminating the factors that can help working mothers in reducing their psychological distress and increasing their level of job satisfaction.

Objectives

The objectives of the research study are to investigate:

·         The determinants of psychological distress among working mothers.

·         The relationship between psychological distress and job satisfaction.

Research questions

The study aims to find answers to the following:

·        What are the determinants that contribute to the psychological distress among working mothers?

·        Is there any relation between psychological distress and level of job satisfaction?

Literature Review

Michael and Einet (1998) conducted research to study the effect of work and family-related conflicts on the level of psychological distress of Israeli working mothers. The total sample of 94 married Israeli working mothers of toddlers who have full-time employment participated and the results of the study revealed that mothers in non-equalitarian marriages with traditional patriarchal norms and role expectations suffered from higher psychological distress as compared to mothers with equalitarian marriages with role-sharing norms. This study particularly, queried the importance of the support of a spouse, the difference in coping with work and family-related conflicts and the type of marriage.

Research conducted during the pandemic reveals concerns regarding poor mental wellbeing of parents and children, particularly working mothers, as they are experiencing difficulties and challenges with the closure of schools and day-care, and workload from the jobs. Working women with toddlers were more likely to report mixed symptoms of depression and anxiety along with somatic complaints as compared to stay-at-home mothers. Women have reported poor mental wellbeing as compared to men throughout Covid19. Among working women, more than 1 in 4 either considered leaving their jobs or restricting their work hours, with other citing household burden and child-care responsibilities to be the primary reason (Panchal, Kamal, Cox & Garfield, 2021).

According to Forbes (Alice, 2021), the lockdown restrictions during Covid-19 have created mental health crisis. Almost 10% of parents experienced increased parental burnout including a combination of immense stress, exhaustion, and emotional distancing. Among which more than half of working mothers reported that an increase in child-care responsibilities due to lockdown restrictions has impacted their prospect of career negatively. Women have been reported exiting their workforces due to difficulty in juggling both increased workload and child-care responsibilities. Working mothers either required childcare in order to juggle their work and house load or work for fewer hours.

Moreover, Betsey (2021) stated that due to the impending recession, women are twice more likely to lose their jobs and for nearly a quarter, the employers have refused to provide flexibility which led working mothers to take unpaid leaves or sick pays. During the pandemic, job security and satisfaction has been a massive stressor as companies struggled to retain people and many had to face job loss and deductions in wages. Working mothers on the other hand experienced redundancy and reduced earning potentials because of a lack of child-care access.

Ozer (1995) conducted a study among 42 working mothers to examine the relationship between psychological wellbeing and distress and their efficacy to manage the childcare responsibilities and multiple roles they must exhibit. The findings showed that increased responsibilities of child-care correlated with greater PD and decreased mental well-being. Their perceived self-efficacy was predicted to be the coping strategy that help them mediate the relationship between their work-family roles.

The study conducted by Rudd and McKenry (2001) queried the relationship between familial factors and the level of job satisfaction of working mothers. Results depicted a negative correlation between familial responsibilities and level of job satisfaction. Working mothers with higher family roles and sole breadwinners tend to have low satisfaction. Although the research findings suggested that increased familial support and help could enhance job satisfaction in mothers.

A research study was conducted on 34 practising nurses to examine the effects of work stress and psychological distress on the level of job satisfaction. Findings revealed that higher occupational stress and psychological distress lead to decreased levels of job satisfaction. The study suggested that as nurses suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression, their work-related stress increases thus resulting in job dissatisfaction (Jain & Lall 1996).

A cross-sectional research study with a basic aim to explore the relationship and the level of psychological distress (PD), job satisfaction, job burnout among working nurses was conducted to address the worldwide challenge of health-staff shortage throughout the pandemic. Assessment tools were used to gather the data regarding psychological distress and burnout among healthcare female professionals. Almost 20% of respondents presented psychological distress symptoms and were intending to quit their job. A mean score of 4 was reported by professionals for job satisfaction. Moreover, healthcare workers with lower levels of job satisfaction and a higher level of burnout were found to consider quitting their jobs (Miodraga, Vesna & Sonja, 2020).

A study exploring the contributions of individual’s resources and role stressors in predicting psychological distress symptoms in full-time employed working mothers in academia revealed that role stressors and individual resources both accounted for variation in psychological distress. Furthermore, the study revealed that women who had a greater level of social and familial support along with personal resourcefulness reported a decrease in psychological distress (Amatea, & Fong 2000).

A recent study aimed to investigate the determinants contributing to the level of psychological distress in professionals with reference to gender differences. Factors including nuclear family, sociodemographic, lifestyles, social support and work-family related factors were studied. Statistical regression analysis was used to find the association between the factors and psychological distress. Based on gender differences, women reported facing more psychological distress as compared to men as they faced lower job satisfaction, loneliness and work and family-related conflicts. The study revealed protective factors like social support, health balance between work-family roles. Increased workload and lack of time for the family were associated as major factors leading to psychological distress in women (Viertio, Olli, Piirtola, & Kaprio, 2021).

Conclusion

Child-care responsibilities soared as the schools and daycare centres were closed due to the lockdown restrictions to fight the pandemic. At the same time, recommendations of social distancing and stay at home, made it relatively difficult for the care providers to help working mothers in child-care responsibilities. Thus, working mothers faced the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis as it impacted their occupational trajectories and psychological wellbeing. Heightened responsibilities of child-care including online learning and curriculum of children due to closure of schools, limited house help and childcare options along with adapting to work from home placed great strain on working mothers. Increased pressures of maintaining the balance between work and family demands, heightened domestic duties and the threat of losing the job contributed to increased mental health challenges. Working mothers experienced work and family conflicts as they still perform the majority of the domestic duties in their homes including child rearing and looking after their elderly family members along with earning for the family. In some cases, working mothers may reduce their work hours to fulfil their household responsibilities which in turn might hinder their career growth.

Additionally, the literature revealed that heightened child-care responsibilities during COVID19 along with other household duties lead to the reduction of work hours and increased risk of quitting in this downturn. Working mothers who were the sole bread earners and child-care providers tend to reduce their work hours to pay more attention to their home as compared to women with working husbands. Working mothers worked tirelessly at home looking after their family, managing their jobs, shouldered the bulk of soared time demands and responsibilities at the expense of career prospects. Few findings suggested that working women might face the consequences of this pandemic on their careers even after it ends.

The literature also revealed that role-sharing marriages in which husband and wives share their roles, burdens and manage their homes together tend to have a positive effect on the mental health of working mothers. Working women with equalitarian marriages tend to face the least psychological distress as compared to the ones without traditional patriarchal (non-equalitarian) marriages. Thus, revealed that the support of family is very important for the mental health of mothers. Their children tend to develop more empathy and have more understanding of their roles.

As previous studies revealed a significant relationship between psychological distress and job satisfaction among workers. Organizations should divert their focus on developing stress management training for their workers both male and female to improve their mental health and wellbeing and to eradicate the practices that result in job dissatisfaction. Training for developing effective coping strategies and resourcefulness should be given to all the employees so they can cope with the hurdles and challenges encountered while performing their duties both work and family-related. Occupational counselling should be made accessible for the workers to gain insight into their problems and develop better plans for management. 

References

Alice, B. (2021). Are working mothers facing the mental burden of Covid?. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2021/01/18/are-working-mothers-bearing-the-mental-burden-of-coronavirus/?sh=1386ccd04632

Amatea, E., & Fong, M. (2000). The impact of role stressors and personal resources on the stress experience of professional women.  Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15(3), 419-430.

Arvindsdotter, T., Marklund, B. & Kylen, S. (2016). Understanding persons with psychological distress in primary health care. Scand J Caring Sci, 30, 681-694.

Atlanta, A. (2020). Financial insecurity, hunger, mental health are top concerns for women worldwide. Retrieved from https://ww.care.org/news-and-stories/press-releases/financial-insecurity-hunger-mental-health-are-top-concerns-for-women-worldwide/

Betsey, S. (2021). Women, work, and families: Recovering from the pandemic-induced recession. Retrieved from https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/women_work_and_families_recovering_from_the_pandemic_induced_recession

Faragher, E., Cass, M., & Cooper, C. L. (2005). The relationship between job satisfaction and health: a meta-analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 62, 105-112.   

Hamel, L., Kearney, A., Kirzinger, A., & Lopes, L. (2020). KFF Health Tracking Poll-July 2020. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/report/kff-health-tracking-poll-july-2020/

Horwitz, A. V. (2009). Distinguishing distress from disorder as psychological outcomes of stressful social arrangement. Health, 11, 273-289.   

Jain, V. & Lall, R. (1996). Effects of occupational stress and psychological distress on job satisfaction among nurses. Sage Journals, 78(3), 1256-1258.

Michael, R. & Einet, C. (1998). Equalitarian marriages, social support, resourcefulness, and psychological distress among Israeli working women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(1), 102-113.

Miodraga, P., Vesna, S., & Sonja, B. (2020). Psychological distress, burnout, job satisfaction and intention to quit among healthcare females. Health Services Management Research, 34(2), 92-98.

Ozer, E. (1995). The impact of childcare responsibility and self-efficacy on the psychological health of professional working mothers. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00078.x

Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Cox, C. & Garfield, R. (2021). The implications of Covid-19 for mental health and substance use. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/

Rudd, N., & McKenry, P. (2001). Family influence on job satisfaction of employed mothers. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10(4), 363-372.

Viertio, S., Olli, K., Piirtola, M., & Kaprio, J. (2021). Factors contributing to psychological distress in the working population, with a special reference to gender difference. BMC Public Health, 21(611).