就業媽媽的新挑戰：疫情政策下的工作與照顧權衡

Working Mothers' New Challenge T h e Debate Between Work and Care in The COVID 19 Pandemic Policy

自2019年起，新冠肺炎疫情開始於世界各地大流行，為避免人傳人的接觸風險，各國政府紛紛祭出了防疫圍堵政策，企業也隨之調整上班模式。在政策與上班模式都有所變化的疫情時代，交織而成的是前所未見的處境。就業媽媽在疫情之前就致力於維持工作與照顧之間的平衡，如今因為疫情影響原先的工作模式，封鎖政策更連帶讓托育資源遭到封閉，致使他們陷入工作與照顧的兩難。本研究便以台灣疫情加劇的三級警戒作為背景，將就業媽媽所面臨的工作照顧安排與性別困境作為主軸，逐步探討就業媽媽於疫情期間所做的工作照顧勞動面貌，並討論政府決策如何影響媽媽們工作與照顧的抉擇，以及其在疫情下的情緒處境。
本研究採深度訪談法，以半結構式訪談的過程訪問13位育有未滿12歲嬰幼兒或孩童的雙養家模式家庭就業媽媽，13位受訪者在疫情期間皆受到影響，受訪者通常受到疫情影響工作轉變型態，或是為了返家照顧不斷請假，甚至因此離職、停業或藉機會申請留職停薪。
研究發現疫情期間台灣的就業媽媽存在「粉領衰退」現象，不只被迫承受經濟下滑的風險，在工作與家庭無法平衡時，媽媽們也會回歸傳統的性別照顧角色，放棄工作返家專職照顧。且就業媽媽們在疫情期間付出更多的時間在家務勞動與兒童照顧上，比起爸爸，媽媽仍為無酬照顧勞動做出絕大部分的貢獻，顯示台灣在新冠肺炎的影響下，照顧不平等的狀況已不斷加劇。
研究更進一步反映政府於疫情時期的作為並無助於減緩就業媽媽的照顧負擔，從就業媽媽的實質看法綜觀政府的作為，能發現不論何項疫情時的政策，政府都無法保護到媽媽與孩子，就業媽媽在工作與照顧上的拉扯並沒辦法藉此得到緩解，反而因為政府的施政方針適得其反，被迫背負更多的照顧責任。
對此，政府應從家務分配與性別平等角度出發，避免以形式平等思維設計危機下的殘補式福利，實質給予就業媽媽照顧彈性與就業保障。

The COVID 19 epidemic has become a pandemic around the world since 2019. In order to avoid the risk of human to human contact, governments have taken some precautions to prevent infection, and companies have also adjusted their work patterns. Working mothers were committed to balancing work and care before the pandemic. Because the epidemic has affected the work model, the lockdown policy has also closed childcare resources, causing them to fall into a dilemma be tween work and care.
The study takes Taiwan’s level 3 alert as the background, focuses on the work care arrangements and gender dilemmas faced by working mothers, gradually explores the work care situation of working mothers during the epidemic, and discusses how government decisions affect Mothers’ choices of work and care and their emotional situation under the epidemic.
The study adopts the in depth interview method and interviews 13 working mothers in dual support families with infants or children under 12 in semi structured interviews. All 13 interviewees were affected during the epidemic. Due to the epidemic’s impact, the type of work changes, or they keep asking for leave to return home to take care of themselves, or even leave their jobs or suspend t heir businesses.
The study found that during the epidemic period, working mothers in Taiwan experienced a phenomenon of ’’pink collar recession.’’ Not only were they forced to bear the risk of economic downturn, but when work and family could not be balanced , mothers would also return to the traditional gender care role, giving up work and returning to full time care at home. In addition, working mothers spend more time on housework and child care during the epidemic. Mothers still make the vast majority of contributions to unpaid care work compared to fathers. The situation of equality has intensified.
The research further reflects that the government’s actions during the epidemic did not help to alleviate the burden of care for working mothers. Looking at the government’s actions from the perspective of working mothers, it can be found that the government cannot protect mothers and children, and this cannot alleviate the tension between work and the care of working mothers. On the contrary, because the government’s policy is counterproductive, they are forced to bear more care responsibilities.
The government should start from the perspective of housework distribution and gender equality, avoid designing residual benefits under the crisis with formal equality thinking, and give working mothers flexibility in care and employment security.