Working Remotely while Parenting Locally

[Cole Callahan]

 A year in, and so many of us are still balancing full-time work from home with full-time parenting. In this event, you'll hear from a few "parents of Webex" who are managing competing priorities of work, childcare, virtual school, pets, homework, potty training, and everything else we're all doing at home right now. We'll share our own tips as well as some of the funnier stories we've gained through our experiences. We hope you'll come join the conversation with us, and leave with some good ideas and a smile.

 

[Raymond Mcgee]

Recently, my life has been very stressful, with a lot of pressure at work, problems at home, and so on. All this began to take a toll on my mental health and overall well-being. Luckily, I contacted https://us.calmerry.com/blog/therapy/what-is-acceptance-and-commitment-therapy/ where I learned about ACT therapy. This therapy has helped me sort through my inner conflicts, improve my mindfulness, and learn how to deal effectively with life's challenges. Through this service and ACT therapy, I have experienced a significant improvement in my health and overall well-being.

[Cole Callahan]

The post has been updated with a link to the recording of the event

[poolball13]

Awesome, thank you for recording such a valuable topic discussion for those that weren't there! Grateful, and warm wishes.

[mollydubow]

Another topic from our event

Q: Most challenging to manage is during work hours, where we couldn't spend the required time with kids. They get into anxiety levels and just doing more interaction during weekends, still adds stress to us. Challenge starts every week and it continuous! What can we do to get balance back? How do we create a sustainable life in this new era?

[HadjiraHami]

personally with one child at home i found it difficult to keep him distracted while i was working, so i tried to instore a routine with giving him school tasks for like 30 minute and take 10 minute breack with him to play or take lunch. than i found that i'm more productive with an intermittent plan.

[mollydubow]

Another conversation topic from our event!

Q: At work I find employees with no kids at home are getting more opportunities bc they have more time to complete the work and are moving up quicker in their careers. I feel we are at a disadvantage for those with kids at home. What can we do to ensure all of us have the same opportunities?

[jsaber]

This is tough and I can understand the frustration around not being able to contribute the same as those without kids. I think you have to do what you can, understand this is temporary, and do your part to normalize that family time and work time are more blended now that ever before (and it's ok). Remember, the pandemic has hit a lot of people, and industries, quite hard! Make sure to be thankful for what you do have, and I hope that you can get through and get back on whatever career trajectory you were on before all this!

[mollydubow]

Great discussion topic from our event

Q: Some of the struggles we see are the following: getting 8 hours of work in with all the distractions at home with a 4 and 6 year old. Even working late that works fine for a few days but the 12 months is not sustainable.How do we cope with this?

[jsaber]

It is tough for sure! I think acknowledging that it's tough is the first step and also communicating to your leadership. Hopefully, they are understanding and supportive around the fact that you may not be able to put in 8 hours everyday. Also, block out your calendar to give you some time here and there and make sure to focus on some little things that will help your overall mental health. Exercise, meditation, focused time with your spouse are all good places to start. And it's ok to put on a show here and there or give your kids a device to play with if you need to focus/get organized. 

[mollydubow]

Another great question from our event!

Q: Do any of your children feel lonely? What were the signs? What can we do to help?

[mollydubow]

Here is a question from our event today that I'd love the community to give their experience on!

Q: Do any of you have young children in distance learning and have to supervise their every move? If so, any tips? My oldest is in Kindergarten and requires a lot of attention. It's a lot to balance with work.

[carowrig · Accepted solution]

We loved having this open discussion with all of you today!  Thank you to everyone who attended and engaged with us.  We hope you left with some ideas and the feeling that we're in all this together.  Let us know what other questions or topics you'd like to explore related to parenting, remote working, and the juggling act!  We look forward to continuing the conversation.

-CW