Charles E Aigbona¹ , Anthony W Udezi², Sylvester O Eraga³

Abstract

Purpose: To examine how work-life integration (WLI) among Gen-Z community pharmacists and its organizational implications are influenced by gender roles and cultural expectations. Methods: An interpretivist qualitative design was employed. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews of 54 Gen-Z community pharmacists. The data was analyzed using thematic process and was interpreted through the lens of Conversation of Resources, Boundary, and Generational theories. Results: The WLI experience was shaped by the gender expectations of the participants. The women were faced with a domestic “second shift”, sexual harassment, professional erasure and restricted safety-related shifts. The men, on the other hand, were under greater financial pressure as breadwinners and were allotted more physical “manpower” demands. Compared to their female colleagues, the men in low-income brackets experienced greater subjective stress attributed to a provider status. Being Gen-Zs who place priority on mental health, many of the participants were considering “Japa” (migration). Conclusion: To retain these new entrants into the pharmaceutical workforce, urgent attention needs to be paid to the deeply gendered experience of WLI. The pharmaceutical reforms would have to be tempered by gender-responsive scheduling. The generational peculiarities and their value system have made mental health support a necessary component of organizational policy.