Coronavirus lockdown has forced corporates to allow professionals to work from home. The general perception about ‘remote’ working revolves around increased productivity owing to time saved on travel and a simultaneous decrease in stress levels. But, this new normal work-life routine has cast a light into the difficulties that working couples face despite the assistance of advanced technology. More so, if they have the added responsibility of babysitting their children at a time when schools and nurseries remain shut indefinitely.
Rashmi Sirdeshpande is a British Asian lawyer turned into a children's author and a mum of two young children aged four and five years old. Sharing her experience with Asian Voice, she said,
“Me and my husband are both working from home so we have multiple workspaces. This is a new situation for us to adapt to because like most working couples, we would have to take turns in caring about our children as the schools have shut down indefinitely.
“The idea of not going to school was a big shock to my children who are used to following routines and timetables. So, that is what we have been doing, allocating time for academia, screentime entertainment, physical playtime activities in our garden. Then we have also been incorporating new activities around yoga, meditation and reading sessions. So, I have been working in pockets, and for reference material, there are various authors and illustrators who have been putting up their material online. I aim to be using those and additionally as an illustrative author, I aim to follow the same.”
Caring for children during a lockdown also means looking after their dietary requirements besides their mental and physical health. In the Covid-19 driven era of panic buying, Rashmi has received tremendous support from her husband on the domestic front; from going shopping for basic essentials to dividing the daily cooking sessions even as he continues to work from home himself.
The 2020 Modern Families Index in January this year revealed that 44% of parents admit checking emails or doing other work in the evening, with a stark 48% admitting that this work from home lifestyle had only doubled their workload. The index surveyed more than 3,000 parents from across the UK and had been published by ‘Working Families’ in collaboration with ‘Bright Horizons’. This can only indicate the tremendous strain that works from home routines can have on the mental health of the working couples especially at a time when anxiety is riding high on everyone’s nerves.
Nishma Gosrani is a director at Deloitte Consulting and a mum working from home. She said,
“First Deloitte asked all employees to work from home and then following government guidelines, my son, Yuvi’s preschool announced it was closing for 12 weeks last Friday, with potential for more. Visesh, my husband, and I are trying to juggle full-time childcare and working from home while trying to preserve as much productivity as possible.
“Even if you don’t have the nanny or home help in the current situation – stick to the routine; mealtimes, blocks of activity and outdoor time. (For my son Yuvi, this will be a virtual classroom, PE class, an audiobook, free play time, construction time and outdoor time). He is used to this as we use this when travelling too. The key to get kids' buy-in is identifying the foundation based on a routine they have some familiarity with.” said Nishma Gosrani.
But maintaining routines may be difficult for working couples especially in terms of penning down conference calls and skype meetings. Whilst technology may have assisted them in working from home, reports indicate that internet service providers are under pressure to lift bandwidth caps so that remote workers do not get cut off from their employers halfway through the month.
These are tough times and whilst taking care of others around us, we must be kind to ourselves as well and devote some time to our mental health. Professionals recommend adequate sleep, daily walks, healthy snacks, and short breaks to maintain a good work-life balance.
