Remote Working and Its Implications on Work Life Balance of Women Employees

Previously before the pandemic, managements considered remote working/work from home a privilege and flexibility provided for employees, but it has now become a new normal for everyone in any firm and we can refer it as the new future of work in a post pandemic scenario. Many organisations are, therefore looking at the possibility of moving everything online and accomplishing everything through digital workspaces. The culture of work from home was earlier confined to IT oriented businesses or publishing conglomerates till coronavirus hit the world. In past seven to eight months, workplaces experienced a paradigm shift as remote working/work from home (WFH) became a necessity for organisations to ensure safety of both employees and management thus paving a way to conduct research to understand the major implications on women employees as the stay back at home they have to take care or both work and family and balancing the both becomes a herculean task. Certainly, times have changed as glass ceilings of workplaces have shattered. Earlier, management of any company considered work from home a privilege for few employees, but it has now become a new normal for everyone in any firm. Many organisations are therefore looking at the possibility of moving everything online and accomplishing everything through digital workspaces. Quality of working life is affected by work-life balance, and therefore, to meet legal and ethical obligations to protect the welfare of employees, organizations must take this seriously. Remote forms of working (most commonly working at home) are frequently included in lists of “family-friendly and flexibility policies,” thereby considering them as a way for organizations to help employees achieve a decent work-life balance. The facilities provided for better work-life balance is often viewed as important not only for the welfare and needs of employees but in relation to organizational effectiveness. Concerns have been raised about whether claims about increases in efficiency and productivity arising from remote working can actually be realized. It is therefore also important, in terms of the need for organizations to balance the consideration of employee rights and welfare against other organizational aims, to examine evidence of the links between remote working and productivity. This paper evaluates the major implications and challenges that are faced by women employees in context of remote working and how it affects their work life balance in a post pandemic world. The data is collected from secondary sources and the outcome of data analysis is summarised to give a holistic informative view of remote working implications on work life balance of women employees in context of India.