The Lived Experiences of Mothers Balancing Work and Family Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brgy. Santa Lucia, San Juan City

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, balancing work and family life becomes more challenging, putting women, particularly working mothers, in a vulnerable situation. Carrying out domestic responsibilities is already exhausting, and being compelled to handle it alongside job tasks inside the home adds a double burden for women. The distinct COVID-19 response in the Philippines calls for a contextualized understanding of their lived experiences. The purpose of this study is to determine the shared experiences of working mothers balancing work and family life in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the positive and negative impact they encountered, and to learn their coping strategies for fulfilling their work responsibilities and motherhood. A phenomenological approach was utilized to comprehend the lived experiences of working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected using a snowball sampling strategy through individual in-depth interviews with semi-structured questions. Thematic analysis was employed to generate the needed results from the research data. Among the emerging themes are the mother's everyday routine, the age of their children, the dynamics of their jobs, time management, a lack of working space, having no choice, a closer relationship with their children, the help of family and relatives, personal time, and fulfillment when work and family life balance is achieved. This study recommends the government strengthen social protection measures and enact policies that would alleviate the double burden of working mothers. The general public is also encouraged to share their knowledge of working mothers' experiences to echo the call for equal distribution of unpaid work at the family level. Furthermore, future researchers are recommended to conduct similar studies in different parts of the country and explore other variables such as age, educational attainment, economic status, etc.