Investigating Occupational Stress & Work from Home Experience of Female University Academics in Sri Lanka: with special reference to Covid-19

Abstract

The aim of this research is to explore occupational stress and Work From Home (WFH) experience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic of female academicians in Sri Lankan universities. A mixed research method was adopted where, quantitative and qualitative research designs were used. Occupational Stress Index questionnaire (OSI) and in-depth interviews were utilized for data collection purposes. Descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis were employed for analysis. A sample of 348 female university academics from state and non-state universities were selected by using multistage stratified sampling for quantitative objectives. The findings revealed that, most of the female academics from state universities experienced highest level of occupational stress compared to the female academics from nonstate universities. Considering stress levels of inexperienced academics, highest level of stress was reported from the state universities, compared to the academics of non-state universities. Moreover, role overload was recorded as the factor that contributed to the highest level of stress among academics while the lowest stress contributing factor was reported to be the powerlessness. Twelve participants those who participated for the survey were randomly chosen for in – depth interviews. Outcomes of the thematic analysis revealed five main themes related to coping mechanism included: physical, cerebral, creative, communal, and psychological activities.