Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 22 Issue 5

Jamuna Bank were interviewed with a semi-structured discussion guide. Both convenience and snowball sampling were used. A Discussion guide was prepared based on a pilot study was done and based on that a discussion guide was prepared for the interview of the 30 participants. Then Semi structured interview was used to collect data. VIII. D iscussion From the in-depth interview the picture that I got of the 30 participants is that from the early morning their rush starts. From looking over the breakfast preparation to making sure everyone has their breakfast then their office preparation and finally after making sure everything was okay in their home they start off for their office. The ones who don’t have personal transportation are facing a lot of problems in this time of pandemic and multiple lockdowns. After reaching their office they start their everyday work and many of them are providing services to their customers by working in the frontlineand in this time of pandemic this is creating a lot of mental stress, many of them said they are scared that they could be the bearer of the virus to their children and family. They also mentioned their workload is somehow more than usual because many of their colleagues are falling ill and they had to cover for them as well. They also mentioned that they had to stay after office hours almost every day. And it gets around 7-8 pm for them to reach homme mostly then again invest in their house hold chores. Due to this pandemic many of their support system is missing, like part time house help, daycare facilities additional help from close by relatives and friends are also missing because of this COVID-19. So, these women are facing intense amount of pressure both mentally and physically to balance their work and home responsibilities singlehandedly as most of them mentioned they doesn’t really get any mentionable help in child rearing and household chores from their partners of family members. a) Challenges faced by the Working Women Some the challenges female employees working in banks that were identified during the interviews with are discussed briefly below- b) Sole responsibility of domestic work From the interviews I had all of the respondents responded that they are solely responsible for managing all the household related issues no matter how tired they are, how drained they feel they have to take that responsibility as no one else will. In this time of pandemic many of the respondents who used to have part-time house helps but they had to let go as it isn’t safe. So now the burden doing everything falls entirely on them and we all can imagine how much of a pressure that is for these working women. Mrs. Ayesha (real name wasn’t disclosed) said- ‘Somedays it feels like this is it, I can’t do all of these myself anymore but then again I think if I don’t who will?” So even when they reach their limit doing office and domestic work still, they have to continue because there aren’t any alternatives for them other than doing what they are supposed to do. c) Gendered roles in the family Respondents highlighted that in this pandemic when children are at home, school, tuitions and any other extra learning classes they used to take are at a stop or they are taking them online. So, now there is greater need to monitoring all these and from my interview I came to know that these responsibilities is on the mother mostly. Only a few respondents said that their husbands take updates of their children’s education but daily making sure if the kids doing their classes, home-works falls on the mothers which is an added responsibility in this pandemic. Even when they have a house help what should be cooked and all decisions and management are done by the mother/lady. When it comes to taking care of the elderly their medicines, food and everything is monitored by them is what the respondents said. d) Interruption of the support system in this pandemic For most women, it is really difficult to choose between family responsibilities and work. To date, professional women have relied on many available support systems to assume their responsibilities. For example, daycare, fast food, processed food, and quick-pick grocery stores can put meals on the table more easily and also help manage housework and help with cooking, laundry. cleaning and other housework. Teachers, coaches, and other assistants help in managing children's education and other activities. The support of friends and family outings, excursions and overnight stays has also made things easier. All these are used to reduce the family burden of working mothers. Unfortunately, in the post-pandemic world, most of them now do not exist. e) Disruption of regular routine The energy and effort required to manage and maintain the entire family, as well as learning and virtual work, mainly fall on women. Most of them are tired of the extra burden of cooking, cleaning and taking care of every little detail in the home. For women, balancing work and family is not so difficult, and everything is so fragile and one-sided when assigning responsibilities. Women go out for financial independence and to participate in the financial needs of the family. Unfortunately, the family has not stepped up to support the family's care. Hiring family help is the first choice. But now, due to this pandemic, most people cannot choose this option. A very small number of An Exploratory study on the Challenges Confronted by the Female Corporate Professionals Working in Banks to Maintain Balance in Work-Life during Pandemic 70 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue V Version I Year 2022 ( ) A © 2022 Global Journals