WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF WORKING PROFESSIONALS ENROLLED IN A DOCTORAL DEGREE PROGRAM DURING COVID-19: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how working professionals enrolled in a doctoral degree program experienced work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide implications for human resource development (HRD) research and practice. Two research questions guided this inquiry: 1) How do working professionals enrolled in a doctoral program experience their work-life balance during a pandemic, and 2) How do working professionals enrolled in a doctoral program cope with challenges they experience in work-life balance during a pandemic? I conducted 11 semi-structured participant interviews who were working professionals enrolled in a doctoral program during the COVID-19 pandemic to answer the two research questions. I then transcribed and coded all collected data and identified two themes and twelve subthemes. The first theme, work-life balance, consisted of eight subthemes including, 1) defining work-life balance, 2) struggles of academic and professional workload, 3) remote working and learning, 4) duality of parenting and educating, 5) role balancing, 6) well-being, 7) struggles of keeping a social connection, and 8) experienced job uncertainty. The second theme, coping mechanisms, consisted of four subthemes including, 1) motivation for a Ph.D., 2) grit and determination, 3) social support, and 4) engaging in activities. The study findings emphasize the need for HRD practitioners to support their employees by offering flexible workplace policies, incorporating fun social activities in the workplace to promote well-being, and supporting employee development through higher education incentives and programs. Future research is needed to better understand this phenomenon such as conducting mixed-methods studies to provide additional depth and qualitative longitudinal studies to assess changes in WLB experiences throughout the pandemic and post pandemic.