This Cannot be the Future: COVID-19 Exposes Inequities in the Workplace for Women

• In Event: History, Gender Issues & Public Interest

Abstract

This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of accountants with implications for the future. Researchers assessed the psychological well-being of accountants along three different axes with a focus on gender. They measured satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, and the need for Recovery after work twice, before the pandemic in 2013 and during the pandemic in May 2020. Researchers found, within the accounting profession, women were more likely to experience mental distress than men. Further analysis indicated that child-care responsibilities contributed to women's worsening well-being during COVID-19. This study shares the dark side of the virtual work-from-home environment that became the work norm during the pandemic, now prolonged due to the emergence of new variants, or adopted for financial reasons as companies calculated economic benefits of this model.

Authors

• Marsha M Huber, Institute of Management Accountants

• Chenchen Huang, Carlow University

• Maria Paulina Kassawat, Youngstown State University

• Dave M Law, Youngstown State University