Honey, Are You OK? Gender, Coping, and Well-Being Among Dual-Earner Couples in Sri Lanka During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter discusses the consequences of stress in managing paid and unpaid work by dual-earner couples and the coping strategies adopted for the same before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western, Southern, and Central Provinces of Sri Lanka. Using an interpretive approach, the authors interviewed 32 individuals from 17 dual-earner heterosexual couples. Analysis was done at the individual and couple levels. Theories on stress and coping and intersectionality informed this study’s investigation and analysis. The pandemic created changes and challenges in both the paid and unpaid domains, impacting the well-being of men and women. As women continued to bear a higher share of unpaid work even during the pandemic, their well-being was negatively impacted compared to men. In contrast, the impact on well-being for men was mostly due to their paid work. In terms of coping, the authors identified that the participants used problem-, emotion-, and meaning-focused strategies. There were gender differences in the coping strategies used, where strategies like religiosity and vocal venting were used more by women, while segmenting (planning and scheduling) and leisure were used by both men and women. Further, individuals used more reactive coping strategies (seeking social support, changing employment, planning, scheduling, and preparing for paid and unpaid work) than proactive coping strategies (such as training the children to help with unpaid work and sharing unpaid work with a spouse). Of the strategies, sharing unpaid work with spouses and seeking social support from extended families were important and effective for individuals and couples. The strategy of seeking social support from extended families has not been found in Western contexts. The nature and effectiveness of the coping strategies affect the physical and mental well-being of the individuals and couples and those around them.