Understanding remote work and role conflict of middle class working women: A sociological enquiry in Kolkata

This article focuses on the issue of role conflict of middle-class women employees working in the organised sectors of Kolkata city, West Bengal, India. Many previous studies have shown that women, especially Indian middle class working women, face role conflicting situations in maintaining work-home balance while working in a physical office environment. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the new norm of work from home (WFHj have changed family and work roles drastically. The objective in the present study is to ascertain empirically whether this norm of WFH has added a new dimension to the issue of role conflict already faced by working women. The present descriptive research is conducted in order to capture the lived experiences through personal interviews of 30 middle-class working-women, and focuses on the conditions which lead to role-conflicting situations in their lives. The findings indicate that remote working has intensified the work-home conflict for working women.