Ramification of work and life integration on exhaustion and work–life balance due to Covid-19 in IT and academic institutions

Purpose The Covid-19 virus badly affected working patterns in almost every sector. The purpose of this paper is to analytically substantiate how work and life integration impacts the exhaustion and work–life balance among employees of academic institutions and IT companies. Design/methodology/approach Current study is empirical in nature based on the survey of 500 respondents taken from academic (250) and IT companies (250) from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesis with the application of the software Smart-PLS. Two surveys were conducted to collect the data separately for academic institutions and IT organizations. Findings Findings revealed the facts that during Covid-19, the employee’s work and life integration affected the work–life balance and exhaustion in academic institutions highly. The relationship was positively significant. But, for IT employees, it was identified as non-significant. Practical implications The current study highlighted the issues which employees faced during Covid-19 severe spread while managing work and family; how it varied due to the nature of work performed by the employees, for example, academics being more exposed to transformation from offline to complete online mode posed more challenges to teaching staff. This study also disclosed the scenario created and how it was handled in the deadly phase. Social implications This study presents the social contribution in understanding the importance of work and life balance and problems related to it, especially when everyone everywhere is scared of going out. The study provides insight into how it became difficult for employees to maintain their payroll successfully. Originality/value The current study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by testing statistically that the integration between work and life is important for work–life balance and prohibiting emotional exhaustion. The current paper extends the theoretical contribution by offering suggestions to companies on why to synchronize positive balance between work and life while keeping boundaries relatively strict between family and work to gain employee well-being and competitive advantages.