Female academics’ views on work-life conflict in a Covid-19 global pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract

Remarking on the importance of managing the existential conflict between work and family responsibilities, emphasis on female academics in a COVID-19 era in Nigeria has received diminutive research attention. The study seeks to address this research gap by interrogating women's views of work-life conflict narrative in a COVID-19 era. The exploratory research design was employed to expand the limit of the research gap and a total of 19 female academics were y recruited for interviews. The NVivo (v.12) qualitative software was employed to identify themes from the data and content analysis used to make sense of the various themes. The paper shows evidence of cultural bias in the recruitment and placement of female academics with social constraints hindering female academic capacity development. The long hours of teaching and consultation depict an indicator of work-life conflict with consequences on family support and emotional care for family and dependents. The need to acquire higher education qualifications on the part of females is also established as a pointer for the provocation of work-life conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic. The significance of lockdown constitutes major constraints for parenting mothers in the areas of combining home front responsibilities with work activities such as teaching, supervision, and the requirement of building a competitive career and research portfolio. The study concludes for a more robust measure in ensuring practical and realistic work-life conflict management strategies are introduced by managers of the University in order to aid the conflict between work and family responsibilities for female academics.