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.
TopIntroduction
In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, affecting countries across the globe and resulting in more than 500 million cases and 6.2 million deaths as of May 2022 (World Health Organization [WHO], 2022). The pandemic has affected all European Union (EU) Member States and has been present on all continents. Although COVID-19 is a mild to moderate disease in most infected people, it is highly contagious and severe precautionary measures are thus required to contain any outbreaks. Protecting public health and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of its citizens has been one of the EU’s top priorities throughout the pandemic. By the end of 2020, governments worldwide had launched vaccination programs, which played a crucial role in saving lives, protecting health systems, and promoting economic recovery.
However, during the first few months of the outbreak, and before the program of mass vaccination has been rolled out, governments introduced unprecedented measures to curb the rising numbers of cases. For instance, with virtually no warning, schools (from primary through to universities) worldwide started an “off-class digital working order,” later referred to as ‘homeschooling’, which followed the concept of the “home office.” In many countries, this distance learning model was indeed akin to going to school at home, with institutions providing minimal remote support. Closing the doors of schools was only the beginning: a series of lockdown events followed suit, with the announcement of a general movement control order, unprecedented isolation, contact reduction, and a severe economic shutdown. The measures imposed threatened human wellbeing (Venkatapuram, 2020) and forced a complete change in lifestyle for many (Khan, 2020; Koós et al., 2020). Work and private life condensed entirely into one physical space for many people, not only blurring the boundaries between these two areas of a person’s life but also redefining the concept of work–life balance (hereafter WLB). Depending on the parameters of job and family status, diverse challenges began to arise, and people had to develop coping strategies without any previous experience of global pandemics.
Given the strength of the pandemic, the abrupt switch to enforced isolation came as a shock to some people; however, given the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), the practice of “working from home” was not entirely new. The strict barriers and mental borderlines between work and home had started already to diminish over the past few decades (Dén-Nagy, 2014). Thus, the COVID-19 lockdown arrived under circumstances in which technology made extending communication in terms of time and space possible and provided opportunities for distance working and learning. The commonplace use of ICT devices and platforms (mobile phones, computers, and the Internet) made the shift from working and teaching in a physical sphere to working in a virtual space possible, and it was accepted socially and economically in many countries.
Nevertheless, COVID-19 has had an impact on households and the family as an institution. The usual work–life distinction was overturned, and small, detached nuclear families underwent hardships as the focus was placed on protecting the most vulnerable members of society. In other words, the pandemic highlighted the weaknesses of this type of family structure (i.e., a married/cohabiting couple and their children) compared with big, interconnected, extended families. Characteristics such as resilience or flexibility become critical when considering the unexpected burdens placed on a family. Resilience is the ability of a family to withstand and rebound from crisis and adversity (Walsh, 1996). When a child becomes ill suddenly, or when a parent unexpectedly loses their job, the extended family provides protection, and a larger network steps in to help. In contrast, a disconnected nuclear family involves a set of intense relationships between few people, with no buffer if something goes wrong.