Work and Well-Being Among Medical Practitioners and Healthcare Professionals in Assam

Work and well-being of Medical practitioners and Healthcare professionals has become an issue of concern in recent times. The recent incident of gruesome rape and murder of an on-duty post graduate trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital has raised questions related to security and well-being of on-duty doctors and healthcare workers. It has also put pressure on the state to address issues of security, crime and violence against women at the workplace. In the aftermath of the Kolkata case, junior doctors across the country carried massive protests for more than a month. Acts of violence against medical practitioners and healthcare workers have also been reported from other parts of India, including Assam. Medical practitioners and healthcare professionals have been under pressure to perform and work long hours since the COVID 19 pandemic period. As such, medical practitioners and healthcare workers have to work under stress while providing essential services to patients and the public. They also have to manage their emotions on the job to efficiently carry on their duties. This paper attempts to understand i) how medical practitioners and healthcare professionals manage their work and well-being while providing services, ii) the mediated role of gender in work and well-being and iii) how medical practitioners and healthcare professionals use emotional labour on the job. Using qualitative approach, the study would look into the subjective experiences of medical practitioners and healthcare professionals of Assam. This paper would draw from existing literature and interactions from the field to understand how work and well-being is managed by medical practitioners and healthcare professionals in Assam.