Between flowers and thorns: analysis of the emotional ambivalence of working women in the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

Purpose To understand the emotional ambivalence of working mothers in their experiences with remote work in the context of the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Based on the interpretative phenomenological analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with working mothers working remotely for organizations in Brazil. The analysis was based on an inductive process. Two groups of feelings experienced by the workers arrived at multiple emotions intertwined in their experience, thus evidencing the ambivalence of the participants' feelings. Findings It was identified that the ambivalent emotions of the interviewees about their motherhood and work relationship can present themselves in a positive way (happiness, pride, compassion and empathy) or sometimes negative (fear, anguish, worry, stress, frustration and guilt), occurring contradictorily and often concurrently. Practical implications We contribute to the understanding of health and well-being aspects of mothers, shedding light on possible programs of attention and monitoring of emotional health by organizations. Originality/value We present the complexity of maternal emotions in the scenario of the economic and sanitary crisis due to the pandemic, discussing the existence of two opposing forces (positive and negative) present in the emotions of working mothers in the face of remote work, characterized as ambivalence (Pratt and Doucett, 2000).