Identifying how pre-existing resources combine to shape the experiences of work and family life of a diverse sample of working parents with at least one child in primary school in Scotland during COVID-19 pandemic-related social restrictions: a qualitative descriptive design

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify factors that shaped working parents (WPs’) experiences of COVID-19-related social restrictions and analyse the relationships between those factors.DesignA qualitative descriptive design was used to collect five time points of data including two online questionnaires and three telephone or online interviews between March 2021 and August 2021 with some follow-up interviews in December 2022.SettingThe COVID-19 pandemic led to social restrictions which greatly impacted WPs who had to both work and look after their children within their home space without any formal childcare.Participants19 participants living in Scotland who had at least one child of primary school age and who had been working in March 2020.ResultsAll parents were affected by social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the flexibility of employers, their socioeconomic situation and the amount of space in their home environment being particularly influential. The impact of social restrictions was greater for lone parents (LPs) due to the inability to share childcare with another adult in the home. Parents in low-income households were affected due to pre-existing inequalities of resources.ConclusionsThese findings indicate several policy options that could mitigate negative outcomes for parents in the case of a future pandemic, including options to lessen inequities experienced by LPs. These include priority access to school places (particularly for children with underlying chronic medical conditions), the ability to establish a ‘support bubble’ at the beginning of social restrictions and being given access to safe outside places for children without a garden.