Work-Family Conflict in Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and Aim: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were praised as the main heroes of the fight againstthe disease, but pandemic conditions affected the balance between their work and family responsibilities. To this end,the present study aimed to explore the incidence of work-family conflict in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at COVID-19 referral hospitals in MazandaranProvince, Iran, in 2021. The participants were 200 nurses who were selected using convenience and purposivesampling. The data were collected using the Work-Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), which was distributed andcompleted online. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS-16 software using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: Most of the participants were working as nurses for an average of seven years and had been caring forCOVID-19 patients for at least 4-6 months until the time of data collection. The mean work-family conflict score was78.80±1.1. The data also showed that the severity of work interference with family in both time and strain dimensions(83.81±0.3) was significantly higher than the severity of family interference with work (65.90±0.3) in these twodimensions.Conclusion: Nurses faced an imbalance between work and family functions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sincenurses are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, it is necessary to pay special attention to their workingconditions and family life. Moreover, effective and practical solutions should be provided by managers to resolvework-family challenges.

Work-Family Conflict in Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic Keywords:

Work-family conflict , Nurses , Pandemic , COVID-19