The Dilemma of Unrelenting Workload Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic: An Agenda for University Female Academics

Abstract

The dynamic changes in the South African higher education environment have seen academics immersed in increasing workloads to keep up with the university mandate. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has raised significant challenges for the higher education community and intensified complications related to workload and in particular for female academics. The understanding of the management of workload is pertinent, and therefore the article examines the components of workload and implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for female academics. A descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach were adopted, and data was collected from 54 female academics in an unidentified university in South Africa. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and presented using a descriptive and inferential format. Also, the study adopted a systematic review of literature leveraging reputable sources. The findings revealed that (i) time allocation to academic activities of teaching and learning, research, postgraduate supervision, administration matters, community service, and academic citizenship remains a challenge facing universities, and (ii) Covid-19 imposed remote working arrangements resulting in increased workloads, leading to reduced research productivity and inability to achieve work-life balance for the female academics. The results of the study highlight the need for institutional review and policy development on the academic workload management system to ensure work-life balance for the female academics and output maximization for the university, especially during a pandemic.

UK higher education staff's mental health and wellbeing during Covid-19

“…Previous studies concluded that females in HE suffered an increased workload and that managing work–life balance was challenging compared to males (Obianuju and Gamede, 2021; Garraio et al. , 2022; Newlin and Anthony, 2022).…”

“…, 2021; Romeo et al. , 2021; Obianuju and Gamede, 2021; Garraio et al. , 2022; Newlin and Anthony, 2022).…”

“…There is also some evidence that the pandemic's impact on females' wellbeing and mental health was worse than that of males. Obianuju and Gamede (2021) found that COVID-19 imposed remote working arrangements, resulting in increased workloads, reduced research productivity, and reduced work-life balance for female academics. Similarly, Newlin and Anthony (2022) concluded that failure to address the challenges faced by female academics, especially regarding the workload policy, negatively impacts the quality of work done and slows down knowledge production in South Africa.…”

“…(Insert Table 1 here) Another notable gap is the conflicting results regarding the pandemic's impact on the wellbeing and mental health of HE staff of different genders. On the one hand, some studies reported the adverse impact of the pandemic on females compared to their male colleagues (Weyandt et al, 2020;Zapata-Garibay et al, 2021;Romeo et al, 2021;Obianuju & Gamede, 2021;Garraio et al, 2022;Newlin & Anthony, 2022). On the other hand, a few studies found no differences between the mental health conditions and the wellbeing of males and females associated with COVID-19 (Laukkala et al, 2021;Peacock, 2022).…”

Creating spaces of well-being in academia to mitigate academic burnout: a collaborative auto-ethnography

“…There are many contributing causes to academic burnout including unmanageable workload obligations (Cadez et al. , 2017) and extenuating external factors (Okeke-Uzodike and Gamede, 2021). As in other settings, burnout has been exacerbated by the pandemic (Wong et al.…”