Individual and Organizational Strategies for Promoting Work–Life Balance for Sustainable Workforce: A Systematic Literature Review from Pakistan

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to explore the challenges and strategies for maintaining a work–life balance (WLB) between individual workers and their organizations during COVID-19 in the Pakistani context. Using the inductive approach in thematic synthesis, we analyzed eight qualitative studies on WLB from December 2019–April 2022. The Quality Appraisal process for selecting studies, constant comparison method, and critical discussion was frequently used to enhance the validity and reliability of findings. Eight analytical themes provided insight related to the challenges of maintaining WLB, strategies for facilitating, and recommended strategies for a sustainable workforce. Workload during COVID-19, lack of resources, training in technology, and mental pressure appeared as significant barriers, while family support, counseling provided by the organization, and self-motivation emerged as facilitators for WLB. Further, the findings highlighted the need for organizational interventions, for instance, emergency preparedness and capacity building of employees. Findings provided insight about guidelines for policymakers and government to make informed decisions and policies about maintaining WLB for mental well-being and a sustainable workforce, particularly women. The synthesis implied that investment in the well-being and productivity of employees could contribute to retaining a more resilient and skilled workforce, ensuring women’s workforce sustainability, and enabling lasting recovery from the pandemic.

1. Introduction

Work–life balance (WLB) has become an important and key area of concern for a sustainable workforce. Organizations where human resources are utilized in sustainable ways not only can increase individuals’ productivity but also cultivate the benefits of creativity, innovativeness, and individuals’ well-being. An organizational environment promoting WLB and well-being is vital for creating and nurturing a sustainable workforce [1,2,3]. On the theoretical front, various theories highlight how the work role affects the family and contrariwise. These include spillover theory [4], compensation theory [5], work/life border theory [6,7], and facilitation theory [8]. However, until recently, work–life balance, well-being, and sustainability have not been well-linked in research and practice. In the past few years, considering the importance of a sustainable workplace, governments of many developed countries have pushed organizations to focus on strategies to ensure a good balance between employee work and life roles and their well-being as an essential tool to facilitate sustainable human resources [9,10,11]. Organizational work-and-life-friendly programs mainly focus on working time arrangements, parental leave entitlements, and childcare facilities. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [12], in a study on 34 developed countries, established that WLB policies are important contributors to the well-being of employees [13]. However, due to the absence of well-defined WLB policies and lack of empirical research, developing countries have a dearth of evidence about the individual and organizational outcomes of work-from-home practices.

Telecommuting or working from home is a unique working arrangement introduced during the pandemic to maintain a work–life balance [14]. Workplaces have been consistently evolving, and advances in technology have led many organizations in developed countries to accept such practices since the early 1990s to reduce labor costs, increase productivity, maintain WLB, and take care of family members [15,16,17]. However, before COVID-19, only limited work and positions, such as managers and white-collar professionals [18], were allowed to use telecommuting.

Since the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) outbreak in late 2019, extraordinary changes have been seen in work and work practices throughout the globe [19]. This also intensified digital transformation for companies, and to prevent the spread of the virus, World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that governments and organizations implement work-from-home policies across nations and occupations as a solution to maintain organizational functioning and productivity intact [20,21]. For sustaining organizational functions, public and private organizations throughout the world had no choice but to adopt telecommuting or remote working [22,23], social distancing measures, scattered working hours, and other methods to reduce the presence of employees [24,25]. The unprecedented challenges during this health and economic crisis have tangible implications for WLB as boundaries between home and workplace have diffused [26]. At the same time, this challenging time provided an opportunity for employers from developing countries to rethink and reimagine the link between work, health, and family in order to maintain organizational productivity. Therefore, the organizations played their part in supporting the employees’ well-being and managing both domains of work and life.

WLB strategies are deliberate organizational initiatives designed to minimize the burden on employees and enable them to be more effective in work and family roles [27,28]. The absence of such a balance may lead to work–life conflict and may result in employees with emotional exhaustion that leads to inefficacy [29,30]. However, instead of having a positive impact, employees encountered challenges in adapting to such sudden changes in work practices and faced difficulties in managing both work and family spheres due to the nonavailability of training. The closure of schools, leisure, and childcare resources further exacerbated the situation by diffusing the boundaries between work and family roles [31,32]. All this added to the anxiety caused by the uncertainty of living in the midst of a pandemic and might have had a negative impact on well-being. In the healthcare professions where work-from-home practices were not applicable during COVID-19, the healthcare providers faced multiple challenges such as inflexible and long working hours, increased workload, and emotional fatigue, which deteriorated work–life balance [33].

Most of the organizations in Pakistan had no policy for working from home before COVID-19. A survey [34] reported that most respondents faced difficulties in shifting to work from home due to a lack of technological support, formal training, and lack of family support. Hence, there is a need to explore challenges associated with remote working experiences to improve the WLB of employees in the context of a pandemic.

Available empirical evidence (pre, during, and post-COVID-19 research) presents mixed views on the impact of remote working on the WLB of workers reflecting both positive [35] and negative effects [36,37]. Some researchers from developing countries support that practices for working from home not only increase productivity but also reduce job stress and turnover intentions and promote work-family balance and workplace flexibility [38,39,40]. Moreover, working from home facilitates building a working rhythm and removing distractions from other employees. It also reduces the organizational burden of absenteeism by enabling employees to fulfill their job obligations even in a crisis. A survey by Williamson et al. [41] showed that employees found working from home a favorable practice, and they suggested introducing work from home regularly rather than going back to full-time office work. Enforced telecommuting strategy during the pandemic in developing countries provided researchers with an opportunity to study the impact of this WLB strategy on individual and organizational outcomes. Evidence from developing countries, for example, Indonesia [42], Bangladesh [43], and Pakistan [34] suggest that working from home during COVID-19 increased job satisfaction, family quality time, and work motivation and also enhanced the work productivity of employees. However, research from both developed and developing countries highlighted that these advantages relied on many interlinked factors, including self-motivation [44], personality attributes, professionalism, resourcefulness, use of technology, communication, technological support, training, leadership behavior [45,46,47], organizational support [48], separate room for work [49], nature of the job, and intensity of physical activity [50,51]. Given the importance of these factors, there is a need to systematically review the studies from developing countries such as Pakistan to investigate the intersecting variables influencing work–life balance.

During the pandemic, working from home differed from the traditional concept of telecommuting, which created a completely new work environment. A study conducted in 27 states of the European Union found that almost 35% of teleworkers reported increasing working hours [52,53]. Empirical studies [54,55,56,57] highlighted the tangible effect of work from home on working parents who faced challenges such as lack of childcare resources, nonavailability of workspaces, lack of privacy, and reduced familial support. Moreover, other studies [58,59,60,61] also indicated work from home is a stressful factor for working women due to prevailing gender roles in domestic and childcare responsibilities. In a survey, Felstead and Reuschke [62] found that 28.6% of women workers reported lower productivity due to homeschooling and family duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similarly, in a study in India, women experienced moderately increased mental and physical load [63] due to childcare and other home-related commitments. The situation is also similar in Pakistan, where women perform 90 percent of unpaid care work as compared to men [24,64]. All this added to their challenges amidst the pandemic. To maintain work-family balance, employees also used some strategies to achieve physical and emotional equilibrium that had a positive impact on their well-being, including resilience [65], self-compassion [66,67], and mindfulness-based practices [68], religiosity [69]. On the other hand, employers also played a positive role by job crafting [70,71], providing training opportunities for employees to facilitate their adaptation and enhance their efficacy to work remotely, and reassuring them about their job security [72]. Limited research on utilizing these strategies by employees and organizations is available from South Asian countries, including Pakistan. Therefore, it is important to explore which strategies have been employed by individuals and organizations to maintain WLB while working from home.

Many employers are considering shifting towards hybrid work in the post-pandemic world. However, there is a need to recapitulate the lessons learned from remote working during the pandemic while considering the challenges and facilitators responsible for enhancing or decreasing work–life balance [73,74]. The shifts in work and non-work patterns during COVID-19 have greatly influenced individual workers and organizations in developing countries, including Pakistan. The work dynamics in Pakistan are entirely different from those of Western countries. The employed workforce had to switch to a new mode with insufficient technological support from organizations and minimal preparation to adapt to work from home in the context of COVID-19. As a result, there is a demand for more inclusive research acknowledging the challenges and facilitators that have impacted remote workers’ WLB, well-being, and organizational outcomes. Given the importance of these aspects during COVID-19, a systematic review was conducted to determine the organizational practices across professions to guide different policies in this regard.

Moreover, studies conducted in Pakistan are primarily quantitative [75,76]. This review adopted a qualitative thematic synthesis approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of WLB and suggest measures to maintain it. The main research questions of this systemic review include:

• What are the challenges in maintaining work–life balance during COVID-19?
• How have individuals and organizations utilized different strategies for addressing the work–life balance?
• How can a sustainable workforce be promoted/prepared after a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic?

2. Methods

The current study adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) [77,78] protocol for systematic literature review (SLR) to analyze the previous qualitative research studies that investigated the phenomenon of WLB in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The thematic synthesis approach, a three-step process by Thomas and Harden [79] was used to synthesize the selected studies regarding WLB during COVID-19. Thematic synthesis provides a tested and transparent method to synthesize qualitative data to achieve higher-order themes [79]. The team for conducting this SLR consisted of four researchers having expertise in qualitative research. The first author of this project particularly possesses expertise in qualitative research in the context of WLB. The first and co-authors as reviewers involved in selecting research studies, coding, and theme development process are all working at a higher education level. The following section describes the procedure followed in the SLR process.

2.1. Literature Search and Screening

This SLR on WLB during COVID-19 included published studies and the gray literature. The structured search process for relevant literature was guided by the pre-established parameters that included: (1) research studies conducted in the context of COVID-19 in Pakistan, (2) published in peer-reviewed journals, (3) during the time period of December 2019 to April 2022, and (4) written in English. The priori inclusion and exclusion criteria are illustrated in

Table 1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria.

Criterion	Inclusion	Exclusion
Context	Studies conducted in the context of work–life balance during COVID-19 pandemic	Studies conducted on work–life balance but not in the perspective of COVID-19
Research Design	Qualitative Include qualitative part in case of mixed method design	Quantitative
Date	December 2019 to April 2022	Before December 2019
Language	English	Language other than English
Publication source	Peer-reviewed	Non-peer reviewed
Location	Pakistan	Other countries

. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Science Direct, Wiley, Taylor and Francis, JSTOR, and INFORMS databases to identify the relevant studies about WLB in education (teaching in schools/universities) and healthcare (healthcare providers) sectors. The secondary source of potentially relevant content was the search for gray literature using Google Scholar [80]. The search process was established using keywords; work–life balance and Pakistan, work from home and COVID-19, organizational support, sustainable workforce, flexible environment, working hours, individual abilities, organizational outcomes, family support, and work–life balance policies. Boolean operators and truncation were used in strings (work-life balance” OR “working* hours” AND “Pakistan”) of search terms. Initially, the process proceeded with the keywords search anywhere in the paper, as suggested by Wanden-Berghe and Sanz-Valero [81]. The search was then specified, and the keywords were searched in the title and abstract. The literature search process was stopped when repeated searches yielded the same references with no new results, as guided by Levy and Ellis [82].

Following Doyle’s [83] and Booth’s [84] guidelines, the study adopted a purposive sampling procedure in selecting studies for review because the purpose was interpretive explanation rather than statistical prediction. Moreover, Brunton et al. [85] also added for qualitative reviewers to identify studies that add new dimensions to the topic under investigation. The initial search results consisted of 590 studies, 585 from databases, and five from gray literature. After the search process, two reviewers (SF and FN) screened the studies independently by applying the guidelines suggested in The Cochrane Handbook [86]. The selection of studies encompassed a two-step process for examining the titles, abstracts, and then full texts according to inclusion and exclusion criteria (Table 1). In the first step, the 17 duplicate studies were deleted, and the titles of 573 studies were screened, out of which 481 were identified as irrelevant. If the eligibility was unclear from the title, the reviewers checked abstracts and full texts until eligibility or ineligibility was determined. This way, only 92 studies were found relevant for further screening the abstracts. To maintain robustness in the abstract screening process, the first author, in discussion with other reviewers (co-authors), formulated yes/no questions using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The abstract screening questions were organized in single statements to increase efficiency, as suggested by Brunton et al. [85] and Livoreil et al. [87]. For example, in response to the question ‘Was the study conducted using a qualitative approach?’ if a reviewer says no, the study becomes ineligible. The reviewers monitored the screening process and met weekly to discuss the coders’ drift. Through critical discussion and dialogue, the reviewers reconciled the disagreements that added to the efficiency and reliability of the screening process, as suggested by Polanin et al. [88]. Thus, only 23 studies met the criteria, and full-text versions were obtained for detailed assessment.

In the second step, the reviewers (SF and FN) independently assessed the studies based on their relevance to the research questions. The reviewers excluded two studies because the findings were not related to the research questions. Similarly, ten studies were excluded because the findings were not relevant to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of studies using a mixed-method design, only the qualitative part was included. The two reviewers met weekly (as in step 1) in the full-text screening process to reconcile the disagreements. In a case of non-reconciliation between the two reviewers after the discussion, a third member of the SLR team (SM) was invited for arbitration. Subsequently, 11 studies were selected for quality appraisal.

2.2. Quality Appraisal

Quality appraisal of the selected studies is essential for addressing the risk of bias in individual studies to establish validity and reliability before progressing to further stages in the SLR process [89]. The reviewers excluded the studies if they did not meet the quality appraisal criteria. We assessed the studies according to 12 criteria adopted from Thomas and Harden’s [79] sensitivity analysis. Five criteria deal with reporting aims of the study, context, rationale, methods, and finding (e.g., was there an adequate description of study aims, sample selection, and the context?). The other four criteria related to the validity and reliability of the research process and the adequacy of the strategies applied to ensure the validity and reliability of research instruments, methods of data analysis, and the validity of findings (what techniques have been employed to establish the validity of findings?). The last three criteria concerned the assessment of the suitability and appropriateness of the research methods for verifying the findings in the primary studies. For instance, were the findings to maintain WLB during a pandemic depicted participants’ perspectives in the form of quotes? Similarly, were the data collection methods in the primary studies appropriate for helping teachers and health care workers to narrate their experiences of WLB during COVID-19? As a result, three studies from gray literature were excluded from the quality appraisal process because of the lack of methodological rigor and the absence of clarity in the findings. Finally, eight studies comprising seven from the education and health sectors and one multidisciplinary research report met the inclusion and quality appraisal criteria and were included for synthesis (Appendix A 

Table A1. Characteristics of the Studies.

Sr. No.	Authors	Title	Year	Source Title	Aims/Objectives	Discipline	Methodology
1.	Kalsoom [75]	COVID-19: Experiences of teaching-mothers in Pakistan	2022	Journal of Gender Studies	1. To investigate the experiences of teaching-mothers in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. To understand the challenges they faced as professionals and as mothers	Teaching	In-depth online interviews
2.	Sethi et al. [76]	Impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on health professionals	2020	Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences	To find out the Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health professionals personally and professionally along with the associated challenges	Health profession	Descriptive cross-sectional qualitative survey
3.	Shahbaz et al. [99]	Psychosocial, emotional and professional Challenges faced by female health care professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak in Lahore, Pakistan: A qualitative study	2021	BMC Women’s Health	To discover the psychosocial, emotional and professional challenges faced by female health care professionals (HCPs) treating COVID-19 patients in Pakistan	Healthcare	Phenomenological methodology, Interviews semi-structured telephone-based qualitative interviews
4.	Ali and Ullah [100]	Lived experiences of women academics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan	2021	Asian Journal of Social Science	To outline the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on women academics	Teaching/higher education	In-depth semi-structured telephonic interviews
5.	Abid et al. [101]	Online Teaching Experience during the COVID-19 in Pakistan: Pedagogy–Technology Balance and Student Engagement	2021	Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences	To explore the lived experiences of university teachers who participated in online teaching for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic	Higher Education/ Teaching	Semi-structured interview
6.	International Finance Corporation and The Pakistan Business Council [102]	Tackling childcare Pakistan: Creating family-friendly workplaces—A market study on the benefits and challenges of employer-supported childcare.	2021	International Finance Corporation	To better understand the state of family-friendly workplaces and the various childcare options available to employees in formal employment in Pakistan.	Multidisciplinary	Mixed method focus group discussions (FGDs)
7.	Raza et al. [103]	Factors impeding healthcare professionals to effectively treat coronavirus disease 2019 patients in Pakistan: A qualitative investigation	2020	Frontiers in Psychology	To explore and understand the factors that impede HCPs to effectively treat COVID-19 patients in Karachi, Pakistan	Healthcare	A phenomenological Approach, semi-structured telephone-based qualitative interviews
8.	Feroz et al. [104]	Perceptions and experiences of health care providers during COVID-19 pandemic in Karachi, Pakistan: An exploratory qualitative study	2021	BMJ Open	To explore health care provider’s perspectives and experiences of the barriers and facilitators to treat and manage COVID-19 cases.	Healthcare	Interviews

). Booth [90] also suggested including 6 and 14 studies for qualitative research synthesis that could maintain insight and obtain sufficient familiarity with the phenomenon of interest. The literature search process based on PRISMA protocol is illustrated in Figure 1.

2.3. Data Extraction and Synthesis

Two reviewers (SF and FN) extracted data from the selected studies using a purpose-designed Excel sheet. Following Thomas and Harden’s [79] approach, information regarding author, title, publication year, source title, aims/purpose, discipline, methodology, and the findings/results of the relevant studies were included and verbatim extracted. Graneheim and Lundman [91] also revealed that extracting relevant data is essential to establishing validity and reliability in the SLR process. The other two reviewers (SM and MIM) scrutinized the extracted data to ensure accuracy.

The current SLR used thematic synthesis as an inductive approach to creating an overarching understanding of the phenomenon of WLB. Thematic synthesis was selected by using the seven-domain, Review Question-Epistemology-Time/Timescale-Resources-Expertise-Audience and purpose-Type of Data (RETREAT) criteria for selecting an approach to qualitative evidence synthesis [92,93]. According to the RETREAT criteria, thematic synthesis is suitable for relatively rapid approaches, which reviewers can apply with primary qualitative experience. All reviewers in the current study possess experience in conducting and supervising qualitative research. This approach is also appropriate to the project timeframe and background of the review team. Furthermore, The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer’s Manual [94] indicated the suitability of thematic synthesis when the focus of the review is to consider shared elements across the included studies that are otherwise diverse. In this systematic review, the common factors related to WLB are described in the selected studies.

Our first step in the analysis was line-by-line inductive coding of the data, and two reviewers (SF and FN) manually derived the codes. To ensure objectivity, the review team examined and refined the codes. The review team met weekly during each step to examine the synthesis process and ensure the validity of the findings. During the coding process, similar codes were grouped together, and overlapping codes were merged. This initial step produced 75 codes that captured WLB and related concepts. In the second step, the first author drafted 31 descriptive themes generated by searching for similarities and differences in the new codes and by reorganizing and regrouping these codes from the initial coding process using Glaser and Strauss’s [95] constant comparison method. Glaser [96] and Tesch [97] also indicated that constant comparison encourages the reviewer to stay deeply entwined with the data. Credibility and confirmability were established and maintained during the coding and themes generation process. The reviewers (SF, FN, SM, and MIM) constantly compared codes and themes with the data to enhance their validity and achieved agreement through critical discussions. The third step in the process involved the generation of analytical themes representing a stage of interpretation whereby the reviewers (SF, FN, SM, and MIM) went beyond the primary studies and generated new interpretive constructs. These are higher-order themes generated with the aim of addressing the review questions. In line with Guba’s [98] recommendation, to maintain objectivity in the synthesis process, the codebook was sent to an external expert to examine the process of how the codes were developed, and themes were further generated for interpretations. Consequently, a set of eight analytical themes was developed that narrate the challenges and facilitators of WLB during COVID-19 as suggestions to develop policies for a sustainable workforce in the future. The three steps synthesis process is presented in

Table 2. Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies Regarding Work–life Balance during COVID-19.

	Category	Line by Line Coding	Descriptive Themes	Analytical Themes	Evidence in Studies
(A).	Barriers	Taking care of kids and elderly in joint family	Multiple responsibilities	Home as Overloaded Workstation	[75,99,100]
		2. Looking, cleaning, and childcare
		3. Work responsibilities including preparation for online classes
		4. Supervising kids’ online classes
		5. Hospital and domestic duties
		6. Interruption during online classes	2. Lack of resources
		7. Lack of separate space/rooms
		8. Sleepless nights	3. Lack of concentration
		9. Difficult to combat long working hours
		10. Priority of home chores as the sole responsibility of women	4. Patriarchal mindset in society	2. Gendered Nature of Impact	[75,100]
		11. Family members did not accept online teaching a complete work for women
		12. Children care as sole responsibility of women
		13. No break/gap/rest for women from work and home duties	5. Continuous working
		14. Husband burdened women with extra work at home	6. Expectations from women to accommodate in every situation
		15. No provision of room/space to women even if room is available
		16. Teaching online during the pandemic	7. Transitional phase from face to face to online mode	3. Abrupt Shift for Organizations to a New Normal	[76,100,101,102]
		17. An imposed change from face to face to online teaching
		18. Introduction of Learning Management System (LMS) in organizations
		19. Difficulties/problems in online teaching	8. Online teaching an arduous task
		20. Problems in using technology for teachers and health care professionals
		21. Absence of labs/whiteboards	9. Physical constraints for teaching online
		22. Weak/unstable internet connections
		23. Difficult to engage students in online class	10. Lack of holistic development opportunities
		24. Difficult to develop social and communication skills
		25. Handling irrelevant content online	11. Lack of training in technology
		26. No money for buying laptops/mobile phones	12. Financial constraints
		27. Difficult for organizations to meet the needs of workers	13. Problems faced due to closure of organizations
		28. Discontinuity of day/childcare services
		29. Monitoring by parents in online classes	14. Stressful teaching during pandemic	4. Psychological Pressures	[5,76,99,100,103]
		30. Sleepless nights due to overburdening of activities
		31. Stress from organizations to meet deadlines
		32. Mind is always occupied with pending tasks
		33. Negative impact on mental health	15. Isolated life
		34. Both mind and body suffered
		35. Feeling of being alone after catching the virus
		36. Fear of catching the virus/getting infected	16. Overthinking about the consequences of virus
		37. Fear of peoples reaction after death of their relative patient in hospital
(B).	Facilitators	38. Nonstop teaching and learning process in spite of challenges	17. Organizational support in continuing education	5. Balancing Channels	[75,99,100,101,104]
		39. Provision of counseling services in stress
		40. Online websites for providing information about COVID-19
		41. Use of different techniques for online classes	18. Innovative methods to support online teaching
		42. Creativity/modify different modes of teaching during COVID-19 pandemic
		43. Colleagues support in exchanging information
		44. Time and energy saved due to no commuting during COVID-19
		45. Spousal support in taking care of children	19. Family support in minimizing workload
		46. Unmarried women had full support of their families
		47. Change in existing techniques of teaching during COVID-19	20. Self-adjustment in online teaching	6. Coping Through Personal Resources	[75,76,99,100,101]
		48. Change in place to accommodate for online teaching and learning
		49. Positive thinking to accept change	21. Self-motivation/encouragement
		50. Gaining new skills and knowledge on their own
		51. Saving other’s life is sense of satisfaction	22. Feelings of gratitude
		52. Value life and health more than anything else in the world
		53. Self-planning surrenders in front of God’s will	23. Religious beliefs
		54. Prayers work during critical circumstances
(C).	Recommended Strategies	55. Understand the nature and complexity of multitasking during pandemic	24. Flexible working conditions	7. Emergency Preparedness	[99,101,102,104]
		56. Be ready and strategic for difficult circumstances
		57. Proper guidelines and planning be provided to teaching online
		58. Need accommodation/place to live independently to cope with work and life conflict	25. Provision of resources
		59. Childcare be made available with special instructions/SOPs
		60. Extra equipment/full personal protective equipment (PPE) be available for safety
		61. Appreciate the extra/long working hours	26. Provision of funds/extra bonus
		62. Motivation in the form of financial rewards
		63. Introduce blended learning to sustain work during critical circumstances	27. Provision of online training and resources	8. Capacity Building	[75,101,104]
		64. Training for using new technology be provided
		65. Training, webinars be arranged to enhance employees’ skills
		66. Special arrangements be made at institutions for smooth transitioning in online teaching/working
		67. Provide cost effective tools
		68. Make plans for using digital resources	28. Formulate policies to sustain working from home
		69. Make plans to enhance existing guidelines for improving online teaching and learning
		70. Collaborate with other faculty to enhance their relevant skills	29. Social networking
		71. Use social apps for online teaching/connecting with friends and colleagues
		72. Educate people to promote gender equity	30. Gender equity policies
		73. Organizations to encourage gender equity through different means
		74. Medical staff be made ready for extra work during pandemic	31. Provision/introduction of teleclinic
		75. Phone/online consultation be made available

.

3. Findings

The findings of the review were organized into eight interrelated analytical themes reflecting barriers, facilitators, and recommended strategies for maintaining the WLB during and after COVID-19. The themes included (i) home as over loaded workstation; (ii) gendered nature of impact; (iii) abrupt shift for organizations to new normal; (iv) psychological pressures; (v) balancing channels; (vi) coping through personal resources; (vii) emergency preparedness; (viii) capacity building (Figure 2). The results comprised a definition of each theme, data from the descriptive themes, and illustrated by supporting direct quotes extracted from the reviewed articles [75,76,99,100,101,102,103,104]. Findings are vigorously presented along with relevant quotations from primary studies to enhance the transferability of findings to other settings and groups, as highlighted by Guba [98]. Moreover, the findings revealed most of the data from working women who faced challenges and tried to maintain WLB during COVID-19. The details of the themes are mentioned in Figure 2:

3.1. Home as over Loaded Workstation

A home is a place where one finds peace and solace after tiring work outside, along with the fulfillment of both physiological and psychological needs. During COVID-19, due to the closure of schools and offices, the home turned into a loaded workstation comprising a school, a college, a university, and an office, where all working members started telecommuting practices introduced by organizations. This transformed the working load on both genders; however, it has become more challenging for working mothers who were performing household duties, caring for the elderly, and homeschooling. One study [75] mentioned school teachers who complained working from home was a difficult job when dealing with the elderly:

‘I would say it was a terrible experience throughout. My 73-year-old mother-in-law became more demanding during the lockdown. Earlier my brother-in-law and sisters-in-law used to visit her often. My husband works in the UAE. Now there were no visitors … she expected me and my children to spend more time with her. My husband was not here. I had to do household chores, plan and take online sessions…My mother-in-law got extremely annoyed with me.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 396)

Likewise, the same study reported that non-scheduled tasks and meeting deadlines drained workers’ energy:

‘I feel all my energy has drained. The school administration wants quality in online teaching but I am unable to ensure that quality while working from home.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 390)

and

‘…I was unable to give my kids time due to unscheduled working hours and meetings along with unrealistic deadlines.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

Lack of space and resources created another barrier to continuing work at home. In the same study [75], the women complained about limited rooms and other facilities at home.

‘My home environment is not suitable for professional activities. There is limited space in my home. My two children and I have online classes simultaneously.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 390)

Another study [99] reported the findings from health professionals who enumerated different challenges while practicing telecommuting mode. They also found it difficult to do whilst managing their household tasks, family, and children.

‘The free days for post-duty quarantine were even more difficult. Firstly, you have to stay with your kids as nobody was ready to take care of them, secondly, for the safety of the family we let all the maids or helping hands go, so I had to do all the household chores which were previously done by maids.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 4)

Online teaching was reported as a challenging job in a multi-centered home in included studies [75,99,100]. The university academics were engaged in additional work during telecommuting, such as preparing PowerPoint slides, online quizzes, and assignments for students, uploading content, recording lecture, and searching resources for online classes. Sometimes, they had to prepare and take extra classes for the students who did not understand or could not attend lectures due to problems with internet connectivity. For instance, one study [100] reported:

‘A three-hour class a week would often take five hours or more for a single course and having a workload of 4 courses; I was on the run all week.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

Similarly, another study [75] also reported additional work hours for taking online classes.

‘I have to be awake late at night to complete my work-related tasks. My principal will not compromise on the quality of teaching. But my children cannot understand this. I wish a day could have been of 40 h.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 396)

Another study [99] narrated the story of overburdening tasks on women that resulted in child loss.

‘Despite government policies of not putting pregnant ladies and staff with comorbidities on COVID-19 duties, hospital administration forced them to do duties and threatened them with termination if they refused.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 6)

The women participants experienced different challenges during telecommuting practices. They found it hard to create a WLB during COVID-19. They suffered from overburdened responsibilities and a lack of support from their spouses in childcaring and homeschooling.

3.2. Gendered Nature of Impact

The patriarchal mindset of society in Pakistan and the deeply rooted phenomenon of division of labor have restricted the role of women in household chores. Man is considered the sole bread earner who is exempted from house chores and childcare. The gendered nature of impact has emerged as a prominent challenge in the reviewed literature that has doubled during COVID-19. Women enter into the teaching or medical profession because of the perceived social differences between men and women. The professional women required household help and childcare while working from home. However, COVID-19 continued to widen gender gaps, and rare data have been found where male members of the house helped women in cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, and homeschooling.

One study [75] stated the lack of support from male members in childcare as:

‘I have to take care of my 2-year-old son at the same time (along with teaching). My daughter and I take turns to attend to him. I believe that my teaching performance and my children’s learning has been greatly affected by COVID-19.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 390)

Women suffered more than men due to their domestic responsibilities, including childcare. Their emotional and spatial needs are secondary to those of their spouses and elder people living at home. They were displaced within their homes when a male member required space, including their husband and male children. The participants’ responses also indicated that in spite of working and assisting the family financially, women academics did not always receive the same status in the family as men. The family did not support managing the space, and mothers with daughters had to compromise and share the room.

Likewise, the study [75] also enumerated this issue as:

‘In one room my elder son takes his A’ level classes. I and my daughter sit in the same room for our classes. She gets disturbed because I have to speak.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

This also shows mother and daughter shared the same room being part of a patriarchal society and could not demand a separate room. Another study [100] narrated that cleanliness and other house chores were a compulsory duty of women and, due to the demanding attitudes of spouses, overburdened them.

‘My husband…over-burdened me in other ways. For example, when the maid washed dishes, he asked me to wash them again. I sometimes forgot and this led to conflict between us.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 148)

The gendered-based segregation perpetuated in society has emerged in the reviewed studies as a huge barrier to performing work-related duties and household chores. The differential impact of gender on working women increased during the pandemic, which was the cause of work–life imbalance.

3.3. Abrupt Shift for Organizations to New-Normal

In Pakistan, schools and universities were not prepared for remote learning or working from home during the pandemic. Due to the absence of any policy and legislation in organizations, lack of training in technology and online teaching, and lack of designed online courses, academics were perplexed by this new mode of teaching and learning. The process from traditional face-to-face teaching to completely online teaching has made it difficult for organizations to switch toward a Learning Management System (LMS) that was daunting and tiring for untrained teachers. One study [76] recounted the issue of lack of training in technology for health care providers:

‘Most of the faculty members are technophobes. It becomes a huge challenge to get through a day’s work. The faculty is not trained for online teaching.’

(Sethi et al. [76]. p. 9)

Likewise, another study [100] reported limited or no access to laboratories and a lack of whiteboards in science disciplines.

When we (the organization) first shifted to online teaching, I think the major challenge was the absence of the whiteboard. We are not used to writing and drawing things with a mouse.

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

Similarly, the same study [100] narrated stories of women academics complained about students who lacked concentration during online classes, which created a stressful environment for teachers:

‘Delivering a lecture to unresponsive students who had muted cameras and microphones was frustrating…Delivering 1.5 hours of the lecture was like walking on trail 3 [one of the many lively and challenging uphill trails in Margalla hills of Islamabad, Pakistan]. It was exhausting and stressful.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

In addition, the key factors involved in increasing stress were managing content and time, students’ engagement, and maintaining a work–life balance. One study [101] enumerated a lack of holistic development opportunities for students during online sessions:

(Among students) ‘inculcating social skills, networking, and relevant employability skills appear to be difficult now…students do not give presentations in online teaching, they do not liaise with different people from the industry, and these important soft skills cannot be taught online.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 379)

The same study [101] reported a challenge in using technology without having the required skills:

‘Cybersecurity…the glitches with the use of various apps are annoying…sudden popping up of inappropriate content and ads is problematic.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 376)

The findings revealed financial constraints as one of the major challenges; for example, buying laptops, stable Internet connections, and accessing paid resources for students. The organizations did not assist teachers in buying laptops and arranging tools during COVID-19. One study [75] stated the financial constraints in continuing online education:

‘Online education was just imposed on us suddenly…There was no support from my school. I had to spend a lot on internet connections to ensure proper internet connectivity. Buying and updating the devices was also too expensive for me. But I did not have any other option.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

The same study [75] further elaborated:

‘No support from the school. This is such a shame. In my school, a group of teachers requested the school management to provide some financial assistance for purchasing laptops. But the management suggested them to leave if they could not afford to buy resources. It was so ruthless. They know that we need jobs and they are pressurizing us. This is so inhuman. We, teachers, are struggling in arranging resources for ourselves and our kids.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

Another abrupt shift for organizations was the closure of day care in schools and universities due to lockdown. The organizations could not help their employees in arranging care providers in the critical time of need. Furthermore, organizations failed to ensure the well-being of their employees and their families. For instance, the report on childcare prepared by the Gender and Economic Inclusion Group of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Pakistan Business Council (PBC) [102] narrated an increase in quitting jobs by women employees due to the closure of day cares:

The ‘double burden of balancing full-time jobs with fulltime caregiving and household responsibilities” pushed women out of the formal labor force.’

(IFC and PBC [102]. p. 10)

The report also revealed that the lack of childcare services during COVID-19 exacerbated the burden and especially the health care providers, who could not care for their children due to fear of the virus. The organizations that did not plan to provide childcare support reported no need or benefit for it. Moreover, pointing toward low awareness of employer-supported childcare and family-friendly policies.

The sudden shift during the pandemic restricted the teaching-learning process to online classes. Nevertheless, the academics suffered from a lack of skills and training in technology, unresponsive students, and the unsupportive role of organizations in providing childcare facilities.

3.4. Psychological Pressures

The sudden increase in domestic and academic work during the pandemic has affected workers’ mental health. The experience of psychological pressure happens due to maladaptive coping strategies that create cognitive and affective discomfort. The findings from the reviewed literature highlighted the effect of stress and anxiety on an individual’s life. One study [75] indicated the monitoring of the parents during online sessions that triggered their stress because they experienced new and unexpected situations. The study [75] stated:

‘Previously only school heads used to observe teachers. Now parents also observe us. This is quite stressful. We need to be more prepared and skillful.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 398)

Another study [100] narrated restless nights and unending academic activities of university academics during the pandemic that caused mental and physical stress:

‘Well-being at a personal level is rest and peace of mind. Sleepless nights and burdens have increased due to the increase in administrative and academic tasks along with the need to care for young kids. As a result, my self-care has deteriorated; I have put on weight and my skin is impaired. So, I have served everyone but neglected myself.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 151)

Another study [99] from the healthcare sector also stated the uncertain situation and intensified psychological pressures that affected healthcare providers’ mental well-being during the times of COVID-19. The study [99] enumerated their situation as:

‘It was more like working in a morgue. You can feel death everywhere. Somehow you manage to work during duty hours, but when you’re alone it’s hard to collect your broken pieces. You have no shoulder to cry on and no one to boost you.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 4)

Similarly, another study [103] stated the stress and anxiety of health care providers:

‘I feel I am in the incubator. No one really wants to be around me knowing that I am treating COVID-19 patients.’

(Raza et al. [103]. p. 8)

On the other hand, the organizations were not fully successful in providing psychological support to their employees for better working conditions or facilitating them in creating a peaceful environment. Organizational constraints include the poor condition of isolation wards, inadequate availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), excessive and uneven workload, and absence of emotional and psychological support for health care providers in hospitals.

One study [103] detailed the issue:

‘Literally, no one ever thinks of what we are facing in our daily lives. There is no actual channel or helpline for psychologically drained health workers.’

(Raza et al. [103]. p. 7)

The same study [103] highlighted:

‘When I get back from my shift, I am exhausted and cannot figure out how many days or nights have passed on.’

(Raza et al. [103]. p. 6)

Likewise, another study [76] talked about the state of fear and stress of health care providers:

‘Psychological battle with uncertainty. I’m in state of fear and stress and sometimes depression too…I cannot sleep at night.’

(Sethi et al. [76]. p. 8.)

Moreover, the same study [76] claimed no additional health allowance was given to health care providers after several announcements from the government. Even they suffered from a pay cut that demotivated them to continue their work smoothly:

‘My colleague became COVID-19 positive while caring for patients. Her family opted for a private facility when she needed intensive care, but the government offered no health allowance. Pay cut imposed by our institution is disheartening, even though we are working from home and working 24/7.’

(Sethi et al. [76]. p. 8)

Another serious challenge was inadequate security in hospitals which caused stress among women health care providers. Especially, those who worked at night were badly treated by the attendants of deceased patients, and hospital security failed to ensure their safety. One study [99] expressed this fear and anxiety of health care workers as:

‘I hid the whole night in a nearby ward as the attendants of patients were beating all the staff when we broke the news of their patient’s death.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 6)

The theme entailed the narratives of unbearable psychological pressures, restrained social movements, loss of loved ones, and long working hours. The fear of being infected with the COVID-19 virus increased anxiety on the one hand and caused suffering from being distant from friends and partners.

3.5. Balancing Channels

The family and organizations served as balancing channels that provided a positive role in maintaining a work–life balance. The role of schools and universities in the continuation of instructions is appreciable in spite of challenges during the global emergency. The findings revealed that the teaching faculty was satisfied with the instructional continuity, and the perceived shift to online teaching was helpful in managing the academic year/session.

For example, one study [101] explained that the students were:

‘Now becoming more independent learners (during online classes) …’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 378)

Another study [100] described similar thoughts about introducing digital ethnography to continue the fieldwork assignments of the students that enabled them to become independent learners. The study narrated:

‘It gave them a fair idea what kind of challenges anthropologists are facing to conduct personal interviews and what alternate methods can be employed during a pandemic to overcome this limitation.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

The support from family, colleagues, and peers emerged as one of the significant contributors to the mitigation of stress arising because of uncertainties during COVID-19. Social media apps helped to minimize social distancing; for example, one study [101] explained about university academics that:

‘On WhatsApp group, all the colleagues were supporting…helping with work-related things is essential.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 376)

Similarly, another study narrated the positive role of school administration in lessening depression by reducing workload:

‘In sheer desperation, I thought of committing suicide. I would say that my school administration helped me in this terrible phase of depression. They reduced my workload and provided me with counseling. That was very helpful.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 396)

Likewise, one study [100] also appreciated the time saved every day while working from home.

‘The ground reality is the burdens have been decreased as I no longer have to prepare clothes, shoes, matching accessories every day for my class. This also needed time and energy.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

The synthesis revealed the spouse’s support in taking care of the infant during online classes. Similarly, the elder children also helped by taking care of their younger siblings while their mothers were teaching online (Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 151).

On the other hand, one study [99] about health care providers in the reviewed study had a different opinion regarding family support. The study narrated the fact that unmarried doctors had complete support from their families:

‘Only unmarried participants received full support from their families and maintained the recommended quarantine during and after their duty period.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 4)

In addition to above mentioned supporting channels, the hospitals also arranged webinars to provide awareness and information about COVID-19. Training of health professionals for their safety and emergency response system was part of the organizational support strategy. One study [104] about health care providers acknowledged the support of management and organizational leadership:

‘I think we have a reasonably good system built for disaster and we have a very defined chair of command (leadership)…There have been different working groups formed for COVID-19 and they all have specialized tasks for information sharing, and there is a COVID-19 hotline for employees and the public and that is adequate.’

(Feroz et al. [104]. p. 5)

Nevertheless, the family and organizations played a mediating role in minimizing the negative impact of COVID-19 and work-related stress. The motivating factors included peer support, organizational support, spousal support, and family members’ support that maintained a WLB during the pandemic.

3.6. Coping through Personal Resources

Coping through personal resources in our study emerged as a significant enabler that participants used to manage the situations perceived as stressful. These coping resources included a positive attitude characterized by hope, self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, and religious beliefs. The research synthesis provides a remarkable example of how the employees prioritized their tasks and balanced their work–life though at the cost of their time and energy, especially women. They dealt with the stress in their ways by keeping hope, depicting resilience, and showing self-motivation. While some had taken refuge in prayer or spirituality, others sought support from psychiatrists through university services.

The adaptability of teaching mothers to critical situations is highly mentionable. Instead of leaving their jobs due to increased domestic responsibilities and a lack of skills/knowledge in online teaching, the participants adjusted to the existing methodologies, learned a new set of skills, and managed resources for themselves and their children. The faculty members did not bring radical changes into their teaching practices.

One study [101] stated the views of teachers about the cognitive understanding of their students and how they modified the current teaching methodology:

“… (Instead of) a major cognitive shift by introducing an entirely different way of teaching…a familiar teaching method with some modification was required to meet the needs for synchronous and asynchronous learning.”

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 380)

Likewise, another study [100] shared the experiences of teachers by using different teaching techniques to adjust to the needs of students:

‘… I used my handicap (Handycam) to make a movie of myself while writing on my daughter’s small whiteboard and I played the video before giving my lecture on Google Meet.’

(Ali and Ullah [100]. p. 149)

While one study [75] mentioned the experiences of women participants of coping with resources efficiently:

‘I have shifted to my mother’s house to manage space. She has a relatively bigger house. My three kids can attend classes there without any disturbance and I can also teach…’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

Other studies [76,99] mentioned different coping strategies of changing lifestyle by relieving stress through meditation and adopting a positive attitude:

It has given me time to reflect on things about myself…which I didn’t have time to think about before…I started regular exercise…and reading.

(Sethi et al. [76]. p. 8)

One study [99] revealed the passion of health care providers for the medical occupation and depicted their resilience and self-efficacy beliefs to boost their confidence:

‘I never imagined that we would be facing such a pandemic in this era or that I would be the one saving others’ lives. This has increased my passion for this noble profession. This pandemic gave us a chance to polish our skills and expertise. Although it’s a challenging time, it made us prove ourselves, not just in front of others but to ourselves.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 7)

The same study [99] stated that feelings of gratitude and optimism were a coping resource:

‘We’re never grateful for what we have and keep on planning for a better future. This pandemic has made us realise the importance of health, family, and self-care.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 7)

Likewise, it also acknowledged the role of religion that guided the study participants to cope with the change of plans in an uncertain situation:

‘This pandemic made our belief strong in the supremacy of God almighty as a lot of professionals had their plans to emigrate, to go for vacations. But they had to surrender in the face of God’s will.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 7)

Coping resources used as personal strategies were the main contributors to alleviating stress and creating WLB during the pandemic. The participants attained/achieved the ability to adapt, relearn, be flexible, resilient, as well as optimistic, which helped them to frame the situation in a more positive way. Furthermore, the synthesis data revealed that participants found different ways to vent up/divert the situation temporarily or relieve and adjust to the situation permanently.

3.7. Emergency Preparedness

The synthesis unfolded Emergency Preparedness as an important analytical theme and provided useful recommended strategies and plans to continue working safely during and after the emergency. The organizations, as well as individuals, were not prepared to adopt a complex unforeseen situation. The pandemic transformed participants’ lives drastically by introducing new social norms for creating social distancing and the application of digital technologies for work and education. The participants suggested financial and appreciation rewards for those who have worked during the pandemic, which would promote workforce sustainability. COVID-19 intensified the need for durable childcare solutions for working mothers. For maintaining work-family balance, the participants stated a few measures, including flexible work, holidays, and day-cares.

One study [101] about university academics emphasized the flexibility in preparing lectures and planning the assessment modes for the courses taught. The study suggested providing flexibility in meeting deadlines during such situations by stating:

‘How difficult it is to manage a number of courses…more flexibility is needed in giving deadlines.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 377)

The same study [101] recommended a few guidelines for smooth transitioning to online classes:

‘…adequate timeline, guidelines, and planning will yield effective results for the transition to virtual teaching.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 378)

One study [75] highlighted the fact of providing accommodation in case of non-supportive spouses and family in this critical time:

‘Schools should also provide affordable accommodation facilities for their teachers; this would be particularly productive for those employees who live with abusive partners.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 399)

In spite of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on everyone, especially women, families, and childcare providers in Pakistan, it has also brought opportunities associated with the importance of childcare solutions. It was suggested in IFC and PBC [102] research report for childcare services for a sustainable women’s workforce:

‘Demand for family friendly childcare was seen as strong among employees while expanding the availability of affordable, quality childcare. The government, the country’s private and public sectors should provide solutions in this regard.’

(IFC and PBC [102]. p. 37)

“Day cares be (can be) provided at offices to facilitate women …”

(IFC and PBC [102]. p. 10)

The health professionals/providers as participants proposed appreciation rewards for continuing the work. One participant advised:

‘… those who have worked get credit for their hard work, and those who didn’t become motivated to work next time.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 7)

The studies [99,104] recommended an extra allowance for combating the crisis and managing resources, preparing a backup healthcare workforce, and establishing a platform to address their mental well-being. The studies suggested introducing monetary incentives to keep the health workers motivated for sustainability:

‘As you know the world is very materialistic and people always need motivation…If the current situation is going to go on, we will need to give people an added incentive in the form of material compensation. This can either be more money or additional days off.’

(Feroz et al. [104]. p. 7)

The study [99] suggested emergency preparedness and response in case of any crises in the future.

‘The response should be fast, special recruitment for coronavirus came after the peak months of the epidemic, due to which they suffered an additional load. Protective gear was rare during the initial days. And fear was at its peak, which created a lot of pressure on health care professionals. Therefore, the government should keep it [Personal Protective Equipment] now for any emergency situation in the future.’

(Shahbaz et al. [99]. p. 7)

The plausible recommended strategy for Emergency Preparedness included additional paid leave with flexible working hours as facilitators. The organizations may adopt a flexible emergency response framework for employers for their mental well-being and open adjusted day cares for a sustainable workforce. Other important strategies were to provide updated information and knowledge to all employees and to manage different resources for guidance during and after the crisis.

3.8. Capacity Building

Capacity building emerged as a suggestion to support Emergency Preparedness by strengthening the skills, knowledge, abilities, and resources of individuals and organizations for survival. The thematic synthesis emphasized the role of organizing webinars and training opportunities for the effective use of technology and resources for building the capacities of the workforce. The virtual interaction during COVID-19 in transforming education to online and the professional development activities through webinars and online meetings were highlighted as capacity-building indicators.

The findings revealed that the post-COVID-19 educational system opened new horizons for professional development in terms of enriched research skills, integration of traditional and modern methodologies, flexible working environments, and technology-based sustainable education.

For instance, one study [101] expressed introducing blended learning to existing capacities for providing quality instruction in critical times:

‘Blended learning is a good option and the physical classroom must be replaced with online classrooms, and a mix of learning tools can be used by keeping online classes and sharing lecture details via emails. Within the model of blended learning, the importance of educational apps such as YouTube to reach students in remote areas was also emphasized.’

(Abid et al. [101]. p. 382)

Additionally, the same study [101] elaborated on the use of podcasts, webinars, and lectures from international professionals and the industry (p. 381). The study also suggested that the concerned universities should formulate policies with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to ensure unlimited access to the digital library for both teachers and students. Similarly, the teacher should have access to multiple cost-effective training and teaching tools online teaching. It also suggested adopting alternative ways of teaching online in rural areas of Pakistan for providing affordable gadgets and mobile internet connections’ (Abid et al. [101]. p. 379).

Moreover, the synthesis highlighted the need for flexible strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on individuals and organizations. Due to social distancing, work from home made it difficult for participants to accommodate online classes, and they suggested organizations provide space for ensuring quality learning. The findings of the study [101] revealed the fact that telecommuting was not popular before the pandemic, and despite psychological, educational, and cultural challenges, teachers were prepared to adopt this mode in the future strategically. The study [101] suggested that during these earlier phases of conception, training opportunities for online teaching were crucial for the success of this endeavor (p. 385). Another study [75] on school teachers recommended flexibility in providing space to teachers for sustainable learning.

‘I think schools should allow teachers to take classes from schools. All teachers do not have enough space to teach online without any disturbance.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 397)

Another suggestion from the synthesis enumerated that:

‘Schools should take a leading role in educating people about the issues of gender disparity through webinars or talks to parents to alert them to gender inequality at home and in wider society.’

(Kalsoom [75]. p. 399)

The study [104] about health care providers also recommended creating a platform for addressing the mental health issues of the health workforce. Problems emerged in maintaining mental well-being and achieving an appropriate WLB due to fear of becoming infected with the virus. The study expressed a health care provider’s feeling about initiating a platform for mental health counseling:

‘Everyone is very stressed. I see it every time one of my staff has to take care of a suspected patient, they are hesitant and scared. Sometimes, I feel the same way myself. We need an integrated counselling program. People should not just come for counselling when they are mentally struggling. Similar to how we have guidelines for PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] and social distancing we should have small group talks on ZOOM so that we can dispel our anxieties before they build up.’

(Feroz et al. [104]. p. 7)

The study [104] also mentioned the staff shortages in COVID-19 wards because many of the health care providers were either quarantined or isolated. The study suggested training for doctors from other disciplines to meet the workforce demand.

‘Health care providers (doctors and nurses) of other sub-specialities (neurology, cardiac, surgery, orthopaedic) need to be trained as a backup to mitigate situations when entire internal medicine teams may be placed in self-quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure. In addition, a few key informants recommended that there should be a central backup plan for staff coverage in both COVID-19 and routine wards.’

(Feroz et al. [104]. p. 6)

The capacity-building activities were considered important for recovery from COVID-19 and a sustainable workforce after the pandemic. The thematic synthesis underlined the importance of teaching support through technology training to meet the challenges faced by teachers and students. Moreover, it also emphasized capacity development training and information dissemination for unforeseen situations in the future.

4. Discussion

The current synthesis of research has reflected intertwined themes regarding barriers, enablers, and recommended strategies for addressing work–life balance from the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed that most of the studies (e.g., [33,57,64,75]) conducted in this specific context in Pakistan included the education and health sector. Women in Pakistan usually choose these professions due to socio-cultural restrictions [105]. The thematic synthesis exhibited barriers and enablers during the pandemic and provided recommended strategies to enhance work–life balance.

The boundaries of home and work were diffused during the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed the home into an overloaded workstation. Due to the complete lockdown during the pandemic, educational institutions, hospitals, and healthcare centers followed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the national authority for COVID-19, and the workforce started working from home. The joint-family system of Pakistan, along with this emergency situation, created a lack of physical space for work, a poor learning environment for children, and a lack of caring environment for the elderly.

The patriarchal structure has been a major feature of Pakistan society in spite of women’s representation in different professions. However, due to the high contribution of women at home and child-rearing, they faced more challenges than men. In the same pursuit, the women in the reviewed studies emptied their rooms for the comfort of men in their homes; either for them to work online or for the children for online classes. This was a gendered nature of the impact that was most challenging for working mothers, whether they were teachers or doctors. These findings are in line with other studies that also depict that women across the world are facing challenges in balancing their work–life due to multifold responsibilities and gender-stereotyped roles, e.g., [43,106,107,108].

The abrupt shift for organizations to the new normal in the perspective of COVID-19 was another challenge for the workforce in Pakistan. The organizations and their workforce in Pakistan were not prepared for any emergency situation, such as COVID-19, for remote working through the use of emerging technologies. The synthesis reported technology-based learning, including the use of the internet, availability of equipment, access to resources, training, and support that were not fully available to the teaching force, schools, and universities. Similarly, medical and para-medical staff were placed in a completely transformed working environment where they lacked resources for working in the hospital. They, particularly women, suffered not only for being front fighters but also faced the negative attitudes of the people due to rumors spread on media about tolling to death to the patients by medical staff. These findings are concordant with the results of previous studies [109] that also demonstrated a lack of operational e-learning platforms, educational resources, and e-assessments during the pandemic. Similarly, the findings are also in line with the other studies that depicted the gender inequalities and gendered organizational structures of health care workers [109,110].

Another major challenge that the participants experienced was ‘Psychological Pressure’, where their psychological needs were not fulfilled due to social distancing and overwhelming demands of work and life that deprived them of their needed sleep. These findings are supported by a previous study by Zeb et al. [33], which described an increase in stress due to workload and sleeplessness. Instead of appreciating through monetary rewards, the health care providers mentioned a pay cut of the quarantine period when they became infected with the coronavirus. These findings are in line with the study reported by Sadang [111], who described that no health allowance, health insurance, safe working environment, and incentives were provided that instigated feelings of disappointment and resentment among employees.

The synthesis also highlighted the facilitators across the included studies, depicting the role of balancing channels and coping with personal resources. In spite of barriers during the crisis, the Balancing channels offered support from the organization, family, and colleagues.

The participants in the studies struggled to deal with the situation by arranging their own resources for teaching online and obtaining training through different sources for using technology. Furthermore, a sense of self-development encouraged them to work hard for the accomplishment and sustainability of quality work. Some of the respondents took it as an opportunity for skill development by working online. They felt a sense of accomplishment/pride for contributing positively in times of crises and disasters. These findings are aligned with the boundary theory that suggests individuals strive to create and maintain psychological, temporal, and physical boundaries around them for balancing work–life [112]. Another positive contributor to maintaining the WLB that a few women participants mentioned was support from their spouses and older children during working from home. This, in turn, enhanced their peace of mind resulting in reduced psychological strain. These findings are supported by the study that mentioned family support as a facilitating factor [106,113].

Lastly, the research synthesis reflected a number of policy measures for the preparedness of the workforce and promotion of the equitable role in society to maintain a WLB in a situation such as COVID-19. A majority of respondents suggested ensuring the strategic direction and planning for capacity building regarding their development of skills, knowledge, and training for emergencies. Furthermore, the participants recommended that organizations provide workspace to those who had fewer resources and rooms at home. The provision of childcare services to teachers and health care providers in times of crisis would assist women in the workforce to continue working. For the workforce from health organizations, it was recommended to prepare a backup health workforce to play its role and provide support in the situation of a disaster such as COVID-19. The findings are corroborated with the other studies (see, e.g., [70,114,115]) that also recommended preparing and training the workforce of organizations during an emergency situation.

In Pakistani society, women encountered manifold responsibilities during the pandemic, as indicated in the included studies. Hence, it is highly suggested from the synthesis that equitable roles of men and women could ease the burden of these obligations for a sustainable workforce. It has been recommended to frame pro-women organizational policies, especially during crises. The studies [75,76,99,100] also suggested creating a balanced policy for working mothers that could support their mental health and well-being.

For a sustainable women workforce, it was suggested in IFC and PBC report [102] to prepare children’s educational kits embedded with technology that might be used to engage toddlers and preschool children during emergencies. These findings are supported by the OECD study [116] on policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis that recommended governments provide childcare facilities as essential services. Similarly, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) [117] also indicated numerous ways for employers to support working parents with childcare, such as childcare referral systems, providing subsidies, and flexible work arrangements. The findings also align with The White House proposal for American Jobs Plan that suggested creating more childcare facilities to provide working mothers with flexible childcare options [118].

For enhancing the working capacity of male and female workers in different organizations, effective use of technology, professional commitment, international exposure, and continuous learning has been the source of success. Therefore, it was recommended to check out policies to increase collaboration among workers, reduce gender disparity, and develop awareness to eliminate gender inequalities in families and increase family support for working women. The participants in other studies have also suggested similar measures (e.g., [31,101,115]).

The synthesis dealt with published qualitative research studies that were aligned with the research questions and the purpose of the review. This study established a qualitative review that can be invaluable in bringing together research evidence to help inform WLB notion/policies and helps to understand what works for a sustainable workforce in Pakistan during disasters and situations of emergency. Striking for a healthy WLB is a difficult challenge, even in the best of times, but it is more daunting and necessary during times of crisis. The synthesis evaluates the process of achieving WLB and the barriers along the way, where a majority of respondents assumed long working hours were inevitable, but a significant minority were able to lessen the burden and achieve a positive balance through family and organizational support and through self-coping strategies. The review also emphasizes WLB by re-evaluating the individual and organizational strategies and adjusting according to the situation. As there may be more unexpected conditions in society in the future, we believe in creating a resilient, sustainable, and adjustable working environment and may learn from others’ experiences. Considering our encompassing systematic review literature, we suggest that future researchers should adopt multilevel approaches to investigate intersecting variables that might contribute (mediate or moderate) to the impact of organizational strategies to facilitate WLB and individual and organizational outcomes. Future studies may need to focus on multiple professions to establish to what extent work-from-home practices and other flexible arrangements for the workforce are effective before introducing and implementing any generalized policy across professions.