Working From Home When The Kids Are
Home From School
Gloria Calhoun, M.Ed.
Due to the
outbreak of the Coronavirus and the spread of COVID-19, thousands of schools
have been closed and millions of children throughout the US are out of school
using digital learning to complete school work. Many jobs are allowing their
employees to work from home to prevent the spread of the virus. While working
from home is regular practice for some, it may be new to many others.
I work for
a company that provides the opportunity to work from home. Over the
years, I've learned a few things that may help to make it a tad bit easier.
Conference
calls and online meetings can be difficult. Sometimes it seems that as soon as
I dial the access code, my kids (the young and the older ones) have tons of
questions or they need something. First, understand and accept that kids
will be kids. Unfortunately, they don’t understand that when mom and dad are at
home working, that it is not party time. Take time to explain to them
that you have to work and can't play and watch Ravens Home all day.
Talk to your kids before you begin your virtual meeting to explain that this is
the way you will do your work for a while. I can almost guarantee that there
will be constant interruptions that will cause you to lose your concentration.
As much as you may want to put earplugs in your ears and zone out, you have to
make sure that you are aware of what your kids are doing and learn to multitask
to ensure they are being supervised while you are completing your work.
Let them know that you love being home with them, but be sure to have clear
expectations in place so they know what to expect from you and how they are
expected to behave.
If you are
required to participate in a meeting using conference call or video (FaceTime,
Zoom, WebEx etc), here are a few tips:
- Pay
attention to your background. Try to have a plain wall behind you as to
not distract the other participants. If this is not possible, at least be
sure that your area is tidy. Others
are watching and can see everything behind you which could be a
distraction.
- Mind your appearance. Remove your head scarf, brush
your hair and put on decent clothes... you will be seen from the waist up.
Remember, you are still working and it is expected that you continue to be
professional.
- Mute yourself when you’re not speaking so that any
background noise that your kids may be making will be limited. This
way if your child decides to scream and laugh loudly or wrestle with their
siblings while you're on an important call with your boss, others won’t be
able to hear what’s going on in the background.
- Plan to have activities available to keep your child
busy. Set a timer for the length of your meeting. Let your child know that
when they hear the alarm, your meeting is over. When the timer goes
off, take a break and spend a few minutes of quality time with your
kiddos. Give them a special treat for being so patient.
Employers, if you have staff who are new to working from
home, consider offering a little grace. It takes a lot to adjust to the
transition from an office setting to a home office especially with kids at
home. Don't forget, their kids are using digital learning for instruction while
they are out of school. It is very likely that they will need mom and dad
to help with assignments which will result in multiple interruptions. It will
be unreasonable to expect your employees to stare at a computer all day and
remain engaged while their kids are cooped up in the house for several
weeks. Give your workers time to make sure things are settled before they
are expected to hop on a call. Most of all, trust them to complete the work and
be supportive through this transition.
Interesting days ahead as we adjust to a new normal!
