People throughout the USA and the rest of the world have faced many new challenges in 2020. The pandemic has disrupted many work and life routines, forcing new adaptations to work productively but safely. Technalink, like many other businesses, has put safety first and made the changes as and when required to keep employees and their families safe.
Sometimes, this means working from home. Depending on where you are in the United States, schools may be open. Your children are returning to class, or distance learning options have been incorporated. In some of the more problematic cases, an outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a school shutting down while contact tracing and treatment begins. This can all lead to a lot of stress.
If you’re working from home and you have children present, this can be extremely challenging. There are, however, a few things you can do to lighten the burden and try to manage your stress.
Lower Your Work Expectations
For some, working at home has no impact on their productivity. Some may even surprise themselves by realizing they are more productive when they work from home. Parents, unfortunately, rarely fall into this category. Children need love and attention, and their behavior can be unpredictable at times, requiring more focus.
This means that parents should make adjustments to their expectations for how much they will accomplish at home. It’s essential to be realistic about giving children the attention they deserve while still sticking to work commitments. Lowering those commitments is not a reflection of insufficient skill, so much as acknowledging extraordinary circumstances.
Schedule Your Work
When you’re working from home, it no longer has to be a 9 to 5 operation, and with children, it may be impossible. Every home is going to have a particular rhythm based on the needs of the family. For some, the “sweet spot” for quiet and an ability to sit down and be productive may not occur until after 3 pm, for example.
Find out what the rhythm of your home is, and work with it. Working from home means changes, and this may include when the workday begins or ends. It’s a challenging time, but a family can adapt to these changes.
Be Understanding
For managers, in particular, this is important. Stress will be higher than usual as everyone takes to a new, sometimes less than ideal working arrangement. It’s essential to be mindful of this, especially if you have a family yourself and face the same challenges and scheduling considerations.
When employees come to you talking about needing to make schedule changes or new arrangements for productivity, be patient and receptive to them. You may find you are making the same changes yourself as you cope with managing not just employees but also children. Reduce the stress for everyone by acknowledging that changing circumstances require extra consideration and that you are willing to make adaptations to the adaptations everyone is making to cope right now.
Embrace Screens
It’s a surprising turnaround for many parents. Still, in light of the pandemic, some attitude revision is in order with regards to technology. Conventional wisdom has been concerned with minimizing the screen time children get to ensure they engage in more real-world activities.
However, confinement at home has changed a lot of things. For many techno-literate children, engaging with computers, online chat programs, and other digital tools is the only way to keep up with classes or even socialize with friends who are now also confined at home. In the same way, you’re currently relying on screens to get things done, show the same leniency with your children in these challenging times.
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