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Impact of COVID-19 on Radiology Faculty - An Exacerbation of Gender Differences in Unpaid Home Duties and Professional Productivity

2021; Elsevier BV; Volume: 28; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.acra.2021.05.004

1878-4046

Anastasia Plaunova, Samantha L. Heller, James S. Babb, Cathleen C. Heffernan,

Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout

Rationale and ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic stresses the tenuous balance between domestic obligations and academic output for women across professions. Our investigation aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the home duties and workplace productivity of academic radiologists with respect to gender.Materials and MethodsA 49-question survey was distributed to 926 members of Association of University Radiologists in October 2020. Several categories were addressed: demographics; workplace changes; stress levels and personal experiences with illness; time spent on domestic obligations; and perception of productivity during COVID-19. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).ResultsA total of 96 responses across 30 states, 53.1% male and 46.9% female were received. Women report spending more time on unpaid domestic duties than men prior to COVID-19, with men spending a median of 5-10 h/wk and women spending a median of 10-15 h/wk (p = 0.043). With pandemic onset, both genders reported that women did more of the homecare, when not split equally. Women with young children reported a significant decrease in work-from-home productivity compared to men with young children (p = 0.007). Men reported they had more time to be productive compared to women (p = 0.012).ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic threatens to disrupt the advancement of women in radiology leadership roles by creating disparate effects on productivity due to increased workloads at home for women. This could potentially lead to decreases in promotions and research productivity in years to come that far outlast the acute phases of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic stresses the tenuous balance between domestic obligations and academic output for women across professions. Our investigation aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the home duties and workplace productivity of academic radiologists with respect to gender. A 49-question survey was distributed to 926 members of Association of University Radiologists in October 2020. Several categories were addressed: demographics; workplace changes; stress levels and personal experiences with illness; time spent on domestic obligations; and perception of productivity during COVID-19. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). A total of 96 responses across 30 states, 53.1% male and 46.9% female were received. Women report spending more time on unpaid domestic duties than men prior to COVID-19, with men spending a median of 5-10 h/wk and women spending a median of 10-15 h/wk (p = 0.043). With pandemic onset, both genders reported that women did more of the homecare, when not split equally. Women with young children reported a significant decrease in work-from-home productivity compared to men with young children (p = 0.007). Men reported they had more time to be productive compared to women (p = 0.012). The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to disrupt the advancement of women in radiology leadership roles by creating disparate effects on productivity due to increased workloads at home for women. This could potentially lead to decreases in promotions and research productivity in years to come that far outlast the acute phases of the pandemic.