A Study on Work Environment, Work-life Balance and Burnout among Health Workers in Bangalore during COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Recent outbreak of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 has led to a public health emergency, threatened human life and, created a worldwide economic challenge. Doctors, nurses and, health care workers from public and private sectors responded quickly to tackle the health crisis with stretched resources, shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), and limited infrastructures. Physical exhaustion due to heavy workload, fear of getting infected, feeling powerless to handle a dying patient's condition and, lack of protective gears and infrastructures have created a situation of tremendous mental stress and high burnout among them. This empirical study investigated the sources of supports-the workplace and family and their impacts on the work-life balance based on a survey using pre-established constructs measured on the Likert scale on the healthcare professionals in Bangalore during November-December 2020. The result indicated that workplace settings have a significant impact on work-life balance (WLB). Unmarried women found to balance the work with less burnout and health workers at higher positions were supported in a better manner by the hospital management.