IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PERFORMANCE AND JOB PRODUCTIVITY LOSS AMONG WOMEN Administrative OFFICERS OF MAHARASHTRA

India crossed the grim milestone of three crore Covid-19 cases by June 2021. Today, as the country steers its way through the pandemic to safer shores, we must foreground the battle fought by the country’s frontline workers, especially women leaders who helmed decisive administrative tasks and prevailed most unprecedented and challenging circumstances. Women administrative officers who worked in adverse conditions and risked all in line of duty deserve special mention and acknowledgment. This study aims at highlighting the impact of the pandemic on work productivity of women administrative officers, especially when the pandemic peaked in the state of Maharashtra between 2020 and 2021. Employing the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ), a 25 item self-report survey instrument, we tried to assess the work limitations encountered by women officers in four areas namely Time Management, Physical Demands, Mental-Interpersonal Demands and Output Demands which, upon using an algorithm get converted into an estimate of Productivity Loss. Using purposive sampling method 79 officers belonging to Pune and Aurangabad divisions of Maharashtra were administered the WLQ in either offline or online mode. Results revealed that each one of the woman officers suffered productivity loss in varying degrees. About 43 officers suffered between 15% to 20% work productivity loss while 25 officers reported suffering grave work productivity loss exceeding 20%. Scaled scores indicate that most work limitations were faced handling time and scheduling demands, performing cognitive tasks, engaging in social interactions and diminished output of work. This study takes cognisance of challenges faced by women officers in discharging their duties and offers opportunities for actionable solutions. Authorities can engage in an iterative process of building and scaling up intervention prototypes for women workforce and contributing to their work proficiency and wellbeing.