Workplace wellness has been extensively researched in various domains of social sciences, both intra- and inter-disciplinary. This highlights the significance of the concept ‘workplace wellness' as it not only influences the outcome of an organization and reduces the turnover rates, but also looks into the well-being of employees. There is a substantial increase in the number of married women entering the workforce which has led to a rise in dual-career families. With the increase in employment, female employees encounter numerous challenges in maintaining workplace wellness such as physical, psychological, or social impediments. This chapter looks at the psychological barriers that young married women experience with regard to workplace wellness in the context of higher education in India. Factors such as burnout, family-work conflict, work-family conflict, career-marriage conflict, implicit bias, workplace violence, imposter syndrome, mental load, compassion fatigue, etc. are some of the major barriers.
TopIntroduction
Educate your women first and leave them to themselves; then, they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them. - Swami Vivekananda
Provision of education without bias indicates women's empowerment, which leads to society's development. Women now receive commendable exposure and opportunities to excel in vocational, technical, or higher education compared to a decade before. The rate of women receiving higher education has increased, but the pace at which this is obtained is still slow (Ghara, 2016). Educated women improve society and enhance the next generation's vision. Similarly, they build a better scope for the community.
Higher education is not an option available for women in many parts of rural India, in contrast to a possible choice for women in urban and semi-urban India (Singh, 2007). Still, many do strive for higher education and believe that it leads to a better future. But some concerns and issues act as setbacks for women to continue their education and there are additional barriers to them, which will be further discussed.
Women in higher education and working in academic institutions in India needs to be focused on as culture and religion play a vital role in influencing perspectives. The community and society they live in influence views on women’s education and impact their encouragement to pursue it (Dutta, 2016). When women belonging to the small community of rural or semi-urban areas want to pursue higher education, the challenges increase, as they are expected to get married early. Also, many agricultural societies believe that women are meant to run their domestic lives by tending to family members and raising children.
The perception of society influences different families’ views about women's education and impacts their support. Still, the family supports working in educational institutions as a safe option for women (Ramachandran, 2005). The least supportive families tend to add to the psychological distress of women. This can impact their performance, relationships and emotional well-being. Similarly, the distress caused in the educational institute could lead to various psychological barriers, such as gender stereotypes, prejudice, lack of empathy and support, implicit bias, workplace violence, imposter syndrome and conflicts. These could affect the women’s work quality efficiency and soon lead to burnout. The non-supportive work environment in educational institutions affects the work-life balance and makes it difficult for women to cope with the work environment (Sparks et al., 2001).
In this chapter we present the theoretical background of women in higher education and high profile jobs. We discuss various issues and controversies pertaining to women in higher education. A detailed description of higher education of women in India is also presented in this chapter. Apart from several barriers women face, psychological barriers play a prominent role. To achieve wellness, psychological barriers have to be controlled if not eliminated. Many of the psychological barriers are also presented in this chapter.
TopBackground
The World Health Organization defines health and well-being as “the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). An individual’s workplace ambience facilitates health, satisfaction in interpersonal relationships, a better chance towards success and job satisfaction. When the organisation prioritises the well-being of employees irrespective of gender, the company achieves higher productivity and profit with less absenteeism (Connerley & Wu, 2016). Through experiencing both positive and negative effects, acquiring experience, getting recognized and reaching actualisation employees’ achievement of job satisfaction (Wilks & Neto, 2013) gets facilitated.