Social Theories and Whole Personhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Owing to the introduction of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the separate entities of work and family condensed entirely into one physical space for many people. Diverse challenges started to arise within the household and people had to develop coping strategies without any previous experience of such an extreme situation. This chapter explores these problems from a theoretical point of view. First, it discusses the economic value of housework, which increased and became more complex and unequally distributed during the pandemic. It then provides insights into the conception of disembeddedness and work-life balance. Finally, the chapter comments on the moral and cultural aspects of the COVID-19-related public measures, which were launched to mitigate the social impact of the pandemic. The chapter pays particular attention to Karl Polanyi's economic sociology and to the research perspectives offered by his theories in this context.