Flourishing versus languishing amongst female academics during the national lockdown in South Africa: “Sink or swim” lived work lives

Abstract

We investigated the lived workplace flourishing of South African female academics applying an interpretative phenomenological approach. Informants were female academic employees, ranging in ages from 32 to 58 years, within a university of technology. Most of the participants (60%) were black. Microsoft Teams facilitated semi-directive interviews during the lockdown level 5 restriction. Following analyses, themes included work-life languishing from the disconnect of teaching in a digital context and work flourishing from the commitment to sectoral professionalism and enabling digital technology adoption. Traditional academic institutions should reimagine a hybrid work environment that accelerates digital technologies’ transformative adoption and incorporation in a post-COVID era. Forthcoming academia’s assistance should enhance coping strategies and boundary segmentation skills in the “new normal”.