“Challenges faced by working women and its social impacts” : a study with Special Reference to Manmunai South and Eruvil Pattu Divisional Secretariat of Batticalloa, 2020

Abstract

A healthy work-life balance assumes great meaning for working women particularly in the current context in which both, the family and the workplace have posed several challenges and problems for women. The dynamics of the work environment have exerted enormous pressure on working women as they need to cope with effectively – one at the office and the other at household. Review of literature, related to the subject has revealed that working women experience greater difficulty than men in balancing work and family. Besides to succeed in one environment, working women are often called upon to make sacrifices in another as each of the environments makes different demands on them and have distinct norms to adhere to. This study investigates the Physical and psychological factors affecting working women and the consequences of it. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire administered to 100 randomly selected working women across organizations/institutions in Manmunai south and Eravur Pattu. Results indicate that a significant proportion of working women are experiencing difficulty in balancing work and family due to excessive work pressure, little time for themselves and the need to fulfill others’ expectations of them. Major consequences of these difficulties are high levels of stress and anxiety, disharmony at home, experiencing job tension and inability to realize full potential. They feel irritable and resentful often due to their inability to balance work and family life. The findings have implications for working women and provide perceptions into finding solutions to maintain healthy work and life balance