‘Work from home’ as an alternative to daily commuting for working women

Abstract

This study examines the viability of working from home as an alternative to daily commuting for the working women of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in India. Work from home has become a common practice in India following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the mentioned area of India people are known to commute for long distances daily to reach their workplaces, and the ability to work from home has led to saving a lot of time that otherwise used to be lost in commuting. Despite this, the present study argues that working from home is not free from drawbacks and the time spent commuting is not necessarily equivalent to time wasted, especially for working women. The study uses a mixed methodology involving primary and secondary data that are analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to derive the findings. The results derived reveals the disadvantages experienced by the working women of the study area as a result of working from their homes, as well as, brings out the importance and need for commuting in the daily lives of these working women.