WORK-LIFE BALANCE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The article is a discussion concerning the essence and importance of reconciliation between work and family life during the COVID-19 pandemic The lack of harmony between various spheres of life brings many negative consequences, both at the micro (individual, organizational) as well as macro (society) level. Too many hours spent at work can lead to employee fatigue, dissatisfaction and absenteeism. On the other hand, problems in private life can affect the efficiency of employees. Considering the above, the purpose of the article is to present the essence of the conflict between work and private life in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic as an important element of the quality of life. The implementation of the goal formulated in this way required the following research questions: Has the pandemic influenced the assessment of the work-life balance? Has the pandemic affected the satisfaction with the amount and way of spending free time? Are there any differences between women and men? Considering that the measurement of work life balance as well as the impact of this phenomenon on quality of life is problematic the research, using the diagnostic survey method, was conducted in Poland in December 2020. The survey questionnaire was developed by the employees of the Department of Forecasting and Labor Market Analysis at the University of Economics in Katowice. Due to the limited volume of the article, the author decided to analyze only some of the results with particular emphasis on the gender of the respondents. It should be emphasized that despite many changes during last decades, in many families the division of responsibilities and tasks remains unequal. That is why the conflict between work and family life is particularly felt by women and the consequences of this phenomenon have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.