Surge in Extramarital Affairs During Work from Home: What We Know So far

Abstract

Traditional physical workspaces have gone after the pandemic has happened. Individuals working at home have distractions that they would have not faced earlier. The usual working hours have taken a toll after they have started to work from home. Mental health and emotional support are not the same for professionals. Infidelity or extramarital affairs are also increasing in this situation where the individual is trying to date someone outside their marriage for emotional or mental support. The negative effect of an extramarital affair is expected to be exacerbated for the individuals working from home and involved in infidelity. The process of healing can also take time making a huge influence on the family relationships including children. In India, extradyadic relationships are not commonly talked about because of the wide cultural and societal influence. But the ground reality according to research studies is that there are many who indulge in the same. This article gives a brief background of extramarital and infidelity research carried out in the past 10 years (2012–2021) and sees how the extramarital affair in families has evolved and impacted individuals working from home during the pandemic.