The Psychological well-being of Working Women During Covid-19 Pandemic in India: A Web Based Survey

Abstract

Background: The current COVID 19 pandemic has had a global effect, affecting almost all. Women, on theother hand, have been affected somewhat differently (if not more severely) around the world, for reasonsthat go beyond biology. Some of these effects were counteracted by job autonomy and partner support. Ingeneral, the pandemic had a greater impact on women’s mental health than it did on men’s. As a result,the study’s aim is to identify potential risk factors that may affect the psychological well-being of workingwomen during this pandemic.Method: The Perceived Stress Scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were used to assessstress and anxiety levels, while the WHO scale was used to assess psychological well-being. Spearmen’scorrelation coefficient was calculated between the descriptive variable and other variables such as PSS,GAD, and WHO to see whether there was any correlation between them.Results: In a study of 258 working women, nearly 63.95 % of those in the 20 to 30 age group reported mildto moderate stress, while 26.04 % of those in the 31 to 40 age group reported moderate stress, and only afew around 6 to 7 % of women in the 41 to 50 age group reported moderate stress. Women who workedfrom home had a moderate stress level of 19.56 % and received pay cuts of 40 to 48 %. Women who workedmore than 8 hours had a stress level of 40 to 46 %, while women without children had a slight anxiety levelof 20 %.Conclusion: Working women’s psychological health is disrupted by the pandemic, according to thefindings, since their stress levels are almost moderate and their anxiety levels are mild. Wage cuts, workingin the private sector, and working more than 8 hours were all high risk factors for stress and anxiety inworking women.