Stranded in the living room: A narrative study of occupational disruption and imbalance as experienced by two Norwegian students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

ABSTRACT The everyday life experiences of undergraduate students under conditions of social isolation have been little explored. This paper explores the ways in which the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown impacted two Norwegian students’ everyday lives. Data were derived from diary entries kept by the students, one with a physical impairment and the other a single parent, over a 5-week period during the first lockdown (May-June 2020). Initial data analysis was done by the students and formed part of their bachelor’s degree theses. Their two supervisors subsequently carried out the secondary analysis presented in this paper, using a narrative design and methodology. The concept of social isolation is used as a lens through which to explore occupational disruption and imbalance experienced by both students during lockdown. Three themes emerged from the students’ personal stories: 1) Life at home: Not being able to maintain a healthy occupational balance, 2) Finding confidence, regaining motivation and purpose, and 3) The meaning of a productive place. The findings highlight how social isolation led to a significant experience of occupational disruption that influenced the ability to maintain a healthy occupational balance for both students, despite their quite different situations. This paper contributes to occupational science literature by showing examples of occupational disruption in everyday life of students during a pandemic. Furthermore, we introduce occupational resignation related to occupational disruption and discuss the meaning of a productive place to maintain occupational balance and regain motivation after occupational disruption.