Page 80 - Summer 2021

PANDEMIC IMPACT ON MEMBERS
Dependent Care
The final area of focus was on the difficulty of dependent care: caring for children or the sick, elderly, or disabled. The results for this question are shown in Figure 2. Of the 301 participants who have children at home, about
75% responded that dependent care was harder or much harder than before the pandemic. Of the 179 people who answered the dependent care question and also indicated that they did not have children at home, 56% indicated that dependent care was harder. In contrast, 5% of par- ticipants in both groups reported that dependent care was easier than before the pandemic. For both groups who have dependents to care for, 61% of nonstudent men (n = 241) responded that dependent care is harder than before the pandemic and 79% of nonstudent women (n = 135).
For survey participants with children, whether depen- dent care was more difficult during the pandemic was also affected by the age of children at home. Of those with at least one child between 2 and 10 years of age (n = 164), 88% reported increased difficulty compared with 76% of those with a child 0-1 year of age (n = 37), 79% with a child 11-15 years of age (n = 67), and 49% with a child 16-18 years of age (n = 37). In the comments, parents reported changes in the parent-child relationship, including feelings of guilt for neglecting their children while they work and needing to constantly manage screen time and plan for outdoor exercise.
Open-Ended Responses
What Have We Collectively Missed?
The most commonly missed events mentioned include travel, conferences, trade shows, visiting appointments at other institutions, and postdoctoral positions. Many survey participants working in academia reported miss- ing experiments, field work, site inspections, and subject testing. Participants working in industry missed in-per- son meetings with clients, with one stating that “Zoom and Teams cannot replace face-to-face customer con- tact.” Additionally, most of us truly missed in-person interactions. Simple interactions such as dropping in to chat with coworkers, brainstorming sessions, and other informal interactions have been missed the most. In their personal lives, many respondents reported missing visits with family and friends.
What Has Been Difficult?
Many difficulties have arisen because of the pandemic in our professional and personal lives. Concerns expressed
regarding work include delayed or modified data-collection plans, transitioning to online teaching, limited or no access to laboratories, reduced visibility from limited conferences and interactions with colleagues, budget problems, layoffs, salary freezes, and technical issues with video conferencing as well as Zoom fatigue. Many survey participants reported that mental health challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Separation and, in many cases, isolation have increased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression, with the latter two being further strengthened by con- cerns over the pandemic and the sociopolitical events of the past year. Specific challenges regarding working from home were also identified, including the presence of a large number of distractions at home, sharing space with mul- tiple people in the household, being in continual flux about childcare and schooling situations, and difficulty establish- ing work-life separation.
How Have We Helped Others?
Survey participants have gone shopping for others and cared for the medical needs of elderly or disabled rela- tives. Parents have spent time supporting children with remote schooling, which has been especially challenging for students with learning difficulties and special needs. Parents have also helped children grieve the loss of school and social activities. Survey participants commented on the difficulty of caring for elderly family members living in care facilities that did not allow visitors and watching those with early-stage dementia who could not under- stand why people stopped coming to visit.
Have There Been Silver Linings?
Amid the hardships, we asked survey participants to consider whether there have been silver linings to the pandemic. A few common answers included the reduction in commut- ing time, flexible work hours, and more time with family. Some have cherished being present more as babies and tod- dlers have reached new milestones, and many double-career families mentioned the increased need to share parenting responsibilities, which requires extra coordination.
Although virtual conferences are reportedly not as enjoy- able or beneficial for most, for persons in countries father removed from conference locations or those otherwise constrained by budget restrictions, the ability to attend virtual conferences has been astoundingly positive. One of the greatest positives identified by respondents is that the pandemic has made working remotely more acceptable.
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