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》For the working parent whose productivity has been slashed by 50% and stress has gone up by 50% due to parenting obligations, WFH might be terrible. And worki
by jankotek 6y ago
》For the working parent whose productivity has been slashed by 50% and stress has gone up by 50% due to parenting obligations, WFH might be terrible.
And working at office with 1 hour drive home, makes those parenting obligations somehow easier?
- ianhowson 6y agoYes. - Small children don't really understand "mummy's working, talk to me instead." Interruptions are death to productivity. Children can't interrupt you if you're not present. - Most daycares are closed or at reduced capacity. - Nanny services are harder to find and come with risks. - Time at the office is time resting from the kids, and time at home is resting from the office. If it's all one place, there is no rest. My wife and I are finding it easier to alternate childcare instead of try to do everything at once, and being out of the home during the work time gives rest and focus.
- jankotek 6y agoBut daycare closed is a different problem. If childcare would be closed, and you still had to commute to office... WFH saved you in this case.
- kelnos 6y agoSure, but childcare being closed and the requirement to work from home are being caused by the same thing this time. Childcare being closed in regular times is a rare occurrence; while it's annoying, people manage to work around it. Yes, that can be stressful, but it's just for one day out of however many. Right now it's every day. If childcare was running at normal capacity but parents were still working from home, they'd be a lot more productive and less stressed out.
- jankotek 6y agoNot really, many people still have to go to work, even with childcare closed. WFH is a privilige, not burden.
- kelnos 6y agoRight, I'm specifically talking about the parents who are working from home, not those who aren't. Those who aren't have extra things to be stressed about, like their increased risk of exposure to COVID-19.
- chadash 6y agoAs a parent, yes. I prefer an office because there are fewer distractions. If you hear your kid laughing outside your office, it's hard not to want to take a look. Plus, my commute is me time, where i get to listen to podcasts/audiobooks and relax. Sure, if my commute were especially long, I might say otherwise, but that's a different discussion.
- sokoloff 6y agoWFH parenting is made much harder with daycare workers and school teachers now WFH.
- tayo42 6y agoThis is a covid problem though, not a work from home problem. In a normal world, possibly even next year, this will go away
- aspaceman 6y agoParenting is weird. Haven’t you ever seen the parent whose kid goes quiet, and then they jump up in a panic? They know their kid is up to something horrible if they’re quiet now.... There’s lots of thoughts like that and plenty to worry about as a parent. It’s more than just “Shut up Johnny!”
- pbhjpbhj 6y agoAlso just having your child survive is not raising them, people have gone from having an educational input from a trained teacher to being the sole carers _whilst they're working_. Sure whilst the kids aren't fighting/breaking stuff/eating badly they really like sitting on the couch all day but that's terrible for them. I love home educating (far better when museums/parks/venues and things are open mind you) but I'm at work .. there's no education, not even childcare, it's babysitting level of care at best.
- creaturemachine 6y agoIts true. Dead silence is a sign of mischief in progress, but sometimes you'll peek in on them and they'll be doing the cutest, most harmless playing, all by themselves in some corner off in their own world, and for just that moment you'll think you have the best kid in the world.
- redisman 6y agoRight but when 30% of the time they're about to eat a broken lightbulb or drop a bucket of paint on themselves it's hard to let (the checking) slide when you're busy.