COVID-19 lockdowns deepened struggle for work-family balance

COVID-19 lockdowns deepened struggle for work-family balance Around the world increasing mental health inequalities between women and men following the COVID-19 pandemic represent a major public health concern. According to a new study, the lockdown measures due to the pandemic profoundly and unequally disrupted the work-family balance for many graduate students, exacerbating mental health problems. The study, published in Preventive Medicine Report , is one of the first to document gendered stressors and the role of work-family conflict in the context of a pandemic. The study was led by researchers from McGill University, Université de Montréal, and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. "Mental health problems are particularly high among graduate students and our research suggests that the pandemic may have exacerbated these issues and some gendered inequalities," says lead author Jaunathan Bilodeau , a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Sociology under the supervision of Professor Amélie Quesnel-Vallée , the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities at McGill University. Working from home created more conflict with family responsibilities. Higher education was hit hard by lockdown measures in Canada due to COVID-19.