Exploring the phenomena of work life balance of working mothers from medical settings

Abstract

Background: Work-life balance is a phenomenon that is growing and is indeed very difficult to achieve especially for young married mothers as they are expected to take the best care and give their best performances in both the domains of their lives; their professional and personal life. We carried this study to explore the lived experiences of female doctors in achieving work-life balance in Lahore.

Material & Methods: The research design is based upon qualitative study, with use of phenomenological approach. Face to face in-depth interview technique was used for collecting firsthand data from female doctors. A purposive sample of four participants were recruited from different hospitals in Lahore. After the collection of data, the interviews were transcribed and the data was analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results: Thematic analysis yielded four master themes and eighteen sub themes. The four themes that emerged were work life balance, personal life challenges, well-being and work-based environment. Sub themes included work life perception, techniques and suggestions to maintain this balance, family and spousal support, domestic help, mental and physical health, coping strategies, daily life challenges, gender discrimination and organization support among others.

Conclusion: Work-life balance is a continuous struggle for the female physicians and they have to struggle a lot to balance both professional and domestic roles.