Do you work from home and look after kids at the same time

[Amy8]

I've posted about this on my socials today and many agreed with this article
I was mortified ! Does anyone else find it sexist ?

Wow! I would love to know how many of you potentially work in corporate jobs? Most of you have a total lack of understanding & empathy.

I have WFH while looking after an 8 month old who is now 4. My work has never ever suffered. I manage my own diary too. My directors and managers are totally understanding of the pressure on Women having to juggle both! Also have a brilliant flexible working policy. Clearly I’m one of the lucky ones! Although this shouldn’t be the case, all i can say is thank god I do not work along side most of you. It is totally possible to WFH while managing small children I can’t believe how many of you think it’s not!

Firstly, you manage your own diary. Not all of us are in jobs where that is the case.
As an academic I have a timetable and even if I'm teaching online it's not possible to do that and care for a small child.

Secondly, lots of us are speaking from experience. I had to juggle WFH and childcare during Covid. Unfortunately my DS has a scar to prove that it's not always possible to do both safely and effectively.

But the judgement on these posts of ‘ you can’t do both’ ? Your point just proves you can’t do it because your job.

I attend meetings online at times whereby my child is around and has been around and I have always been honest about that.

Anybody that is able to and can work from home with children have the capabilities to do so. Not everyone should be struck off that it’s impossible to do because it absolutely is.

I attend meetings online at times whereby my child is around and has been around and I have always been honest about that.

How unprofessional.
How often are you distracted by your child when you should be concentrating on what is happening in the meeting?

Even if you manage your own diary, what about other people’s diaries? I have a team, routinely if I put in a catch up or a meeting at 3-4pm they will say they are on the school run. But this is a core part of the working day, various things make mornings usually untenable, then respecting lunch, which leaves the after noon, but from 3pm if they are picking up and then having the children around it isn’t possible. So they might have control over their own diaries but they frustrate other peoples when they ought to be available 9-5.30pm.

I do allow for this though, because they all work hard and get the job done and I had my children when I had to run from nursery in the morning and run out on the dot of 5.30 and it was stressful so I don’t begrudge it for my team because the meetings are not usually crucial. But if there was a time critical meeting then they wouldn’t be able to make it.

As an overview I don’t think this is an anecdotal, considered case by case thing, E.g. previous poster saying she did it so it’s fine. There should be working norms - and these should be whatever the respective company decides and then we can decide if we work there.

I feel sorry for the children in these situations. In emergencies when I have had to do an hour or so of work with 3yo around I've had to give her a screen to keep her occupied. It's grim.
If the children are older and self sufficient that's different.

I completely agree.

Some posters on this thread are delusional. Take a toddler into an office with 30 people in it. Are any of those 30 getting as much work done as they would without the toddler there? And that's with a 30:1 ratio. Yet, we're supposed to believe that some parents can be as productive while being the sole carer for young children as they would be without the kids present?

And, ultimately it's us paying for the poor productivity - either as tax-payers if they are public sector, or through increased costs - and therefore prices - if they are private sector.

YY to flexibility, time to do the school run etc, but no way should people be caring for young kids while working, except to cover the odd emergency.

I work at a flexible job and I have my children at home too during the holidays. But I don’t think I can be productive with a toddler at home either. They need to be an age to not bother you while working and won’t come to you and whine they are bored. This is usually sometime in KS2. DC2 is getting very good at this now she’s 9. She can make her own snacks too. It’s the kind of age they are too young to be left at home but can entertain themselves. We also have secondary aged DC1 with her too.

Not unprofessional at all actually- I declare this mostly before meetings and am as flexible as possible around nursery runs and flexible working policy.

Most professionals I work with mange childcare and working from home too.

Not unprofessional at all actually- I declare this mostly before meetings and am as flexible as possible around nursery runs and flexible working policy.

Declaring it doesn't make it professional.

Most professionals I work with mange childcare and working from home too.

Doesn't mean their behaviour is professional either 🤷🏼‍♀️

Couldn't agree more. I wfh and can't be office-based full time at that point in my life due to various health issues. So many people are in the same boat, and people abusing wfh in this way (genuine emergencies/lack of options aside) just perpetuates the Daily Mail-style stigmatising of wfh-ers as skivers and puts the future of wfh at risk for those who really need it.

Most professionals I work with mange childcare and working from home too

Absolute BS

Most professionals I work with mange childcare and working from home too.

How?

Your work may not have suffered but what about your child? Or do you mean by managing your child you oversaw a nanny or Au pair?
Children need more than managing they need an awful lot of attention with a good attention span for a 2 year old being 10 minutes you can't do good childcare and work at the same time something is loosing out.

I think when they say childcare, they don't mean a 2 year old. A lot of the kids I bet are much older. The age where it's too young really to be left at home all day but too old for childcare. By year 5 or 6, I see a lot of them going out in groups in the holidays. If a parent is at home, then you know if they are out all day, playing on game consoles, or having friends at home raiding our alcohol cupboard.

I mean when most professionals say they are doing childcare while WFH, they don't mean 2 year olds. Obviously there are those who take the piss.

8mo and 4yo is definitely taking the piss. It's not too long ago I have a 4yo. I remember DC2 wasn't that reliable in understanding office hours = don't disturb mum and dad even at 7yo. And that's even with a 10yo at home with her.

I do this a lot on school holidays and for an hour or two in afternoons after school pick up. Have done for years now. Still manage to be one of the most profitable people in the local organisation by a country mile. It's called multi tasking. Old fashioned Office culture transposed to WFH isn't about profit or efficiency, it's about control.

Couldn't agree more. I wfh and can't be office-based full time at that point in my life due to various health issues. So many people are in the same boat, and people abusing wfh in this way (genuine emergencies/lack of options aside) just perpetuates the Daily Mail-style stigmatising of wfh-ers as skivers and puts the future of wfh at risk for those who really need it.
I agree with this.

Working from home and using your coffee breaks and lunch to do jobs is something that's great for a lot of people. Businesses having core hours and flexible start times is great for people who have other commitments such as the school run, dogs to walk, elderly parents to visit or want to go to the gym in the morning. Flexibility is beneficial to so many people and it would be a shame for so many people to lose out because of a few people skiving.

What industry is this in?