Working from Home While Schooling at Home during COVID-19
What began as a short break from in-person school in March due to COVID-19 has evolved into months of children at home for most American families. The implications have quietly been unfolding in households and workplaces, but should not be ignored by organizations wanting strong, diverse and engaged workforces.
Sandra Nagy, Director of Learning, at Future Design School
Many women, especially women of color, have had to take a break from working to care for children or older family members as options for care outside the home have diminished. Other workers have had to get creative in covering children’s needs, especially as school systems have begun classes online this fall. Grandparents and social networks have become more important than ever.
Sandra Nagy, Director of Learning, at Future Design School in Toronto, said, “Parents are being asked to be workers, parents and homeschooling teachers — have empathy for all the balls employees are juggling.” Future Design School supports leaders developing unique, personalized pathways for their schools, educators and students through transformational strategy, professional development and robust resources.
Nagy sees creative ways for employers to address challenges for employees working with children at home through COVID-19. Here are her 5 tips for helping employees navigate schooling in this uncertain time:
Be flexible. “As a parent and educator, I think that flexibility is the biggest key right now.” Nagy said her high schooler used to take public transportation to school, but now must be driven. Even though it’s a small shift, it changed her schedule. For many workers, their schedules have been turned upside down.
Allow workers to be transparent. Ask your employees what their real schedule is. As long as your employees are getting their work done, allow them to be honest about their needs related to their children. If they need to help a child from 8:30-9:30 each morning get online for school and get their day started, let them block that off on their calendar. It’s better to know than to always be frustrated that they aren’t available.
Support your local schools. “There are amazing opportunities for workplaces to connect with schools like never before,” Nagy said. Some companies are offering virtual field trips to their factories or facilities, while others are providing guest speakers and giving money to support school programs. “There’s a lot of community building that can happen right now — it would be an incredible give-back that would be highly regarded by employees and show how much you care.”
Be positive about the situation. Yes, this is hard on parents and businesses. Yet, there are unexpected positives, too. Children are learning to collaborate and problem solve in new and unexpected ways. They are learning skills that their parents are practicing as they work from home. Talk to your children about what you’re learning by having to work differently. “Anything we can do to make learning relevant and real for kids is so, so helpful,” she said.
Be real. “This isn’t easy, and it’s OK that it’s not easy,” Nagy said. Have real conversations about the challenges. Also, acknowledge that not everyone can work at home, so even though it is hard, it’s also a privilege. Many front-line workers don’t have the opportunity to work at home right now. Be kind. Be patient. “This situation makes us more human,” Nagy said. This is especially true when you think of teachers. “I always take the opportunity to say thank you to teachers everywhere. They’re working parents, too. Sometimes they’re on the screen teaching, with a kid in the next room, too.”
Want more tips on working from home and schooling?
1. If you have young children at home, check out Future Design School’s series of posts on engaging our youngest learners.
2. Speaker and author Jon Acuff offers these tips for virtual school, including getting the most from your internet service (hint: he likes Google Nest Wi Fi Routers) and buying blue light-blocking glasses.
3. We Are Teachers offers a few tips to beat Zoom fatigue:
Make sure your child is in a comfortable position, at least 25 inches from the screen.
Choose “speaker view,” if possible, to limit distractions.
Help your child learn to mute and unmute to cut down on noise.
Take stretch and movement breaks.
Practice 20-20-20: Every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Donna Dunn has two high schoolers in blended learning environments this fall. She’s helped raise funds for her county to ensure all families can connect to learning.