FAMILIES IN LOCKDOWN DURING THE PANDAMIC: YOUNG WOMEN TO WORK FROM HOME

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought in the most unexpected of restrictions. Closure of work places and restrictions on movements in public spaces brought the world to a standstill with families locked inside homes. The dividing line between work-related-tasks and homerelated-chores got blurred in terms of the physical setting and time spent on each domain. 
The study exploredthe lived experiences of young women between the ages of 20-30 years who stayed within the confines of their homes with their families andattended educational programmes orengaged in official work in the online modefor a period of one year. Qualitative dataobtained utilizing two methods – written responses to open-ended probesand semi-structured interviews –wassubjected to thematic analysis. Themes reflected the benefits and challenges emerging out of the intersection between family relationship dynamics and work-structuredemands. The findings imply the importance of family as the primary component of the microsystem of society that contributes towards mental health of the individual as well as to the collective resilience of the society.Family 
welfare agencies can act as catalyst in preparing, assisting and counselling vulnerable families to face unforeseen situations like that of the recent pandemic.