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Six Common Challenges for Working Parents
The past two years have undoubtedly been a difficult time for everyone. While there are hopeful signs of the eventual end of Covid-19 round the corner, its lasting impact is sure to be felt for a long time. Though the pandemic has wreaked havoc on one and all, the resulting lockdowns have been particularly harsh for working parents.
Faced with the challenge of transitioning to remote work as well as taking care of essential work outside the home, the already difficult juggling act of parenting while working became significantly harder during Covid.
It’s not always easy to be a working parent. Balancing a career and kids is a constant juggling act. People who relied on childcare had to give up that necessity in fear of exposing their children or their families to people outside their homes. Televisions and iPads substituted babysitters as parents tried their best to adjust to the new norm of work from home.
Parents also had to fulfill the additional role of home-school teachers. It was tough for parents to get through the workday and their office workday without numerous disruptions, sometimes, even during critical meetings. A December 2020 survey revealed that half of remote workers with children under 18 have found it challenging to get through the workday without interruption compared to only 20% of workers without kids. This response was common for both parents.
Even while the parents are getting back to the pre CVID routine of going back to office, they are still struggling to handle their children’s stress and anxiety and maintaining a healthy routine for them. It isn’t just day-to-day childcare demanding the attention of working parents.
Six common challenges being faced by parents in this present situation.
- Transitioning from work to home can be tough
Often, leaving office is not the end of the day for work. You might be answering emails or doing some research on your way back home, or even meeting a client after work before heading home. That’s why they it is challenging to turn off work once you enter home.
In order to have work-life balance, though, you have to be present. That means when you’re at work, you’re focused on the task at hand. And when you’re home, you need t. focus on spending quality time with your kids.
- Need for child care
Parents, irrespective of whether you are working at location in office or working from home, it is to pretty hard to maintain an equilibrium trying to get children to school, go to work, and pick their kids up from school. Even if you are engaged in a job which entails working from home, the situation is still the same- you need assistance. It can be in the form of daycare, a babysitter, a nanny or a general help body.
However, the flip side of working from home parents is that you get to connect with your child more , like having lunch with them or being there to meet them at the bus stop.
- Difficulty in maintaining a healthy routine
Your health might suffer because of your workload and taking care of your children. This can lead to serious complications starting off with mild fatigue. The best way to overcome this is to take some time out to exercise. Investing time on yourself is extremely important. Practicing time management can also help you in such a situation.
- Constant grapple with guilt
There is a constant feeling of guilt while you ponder if you are choosing career over home. You beat yourself up about not being able to give your all to either. To avoid this stress, put things in perspective. You have to realize that you cannot give your best to all your priorities at the same time.
You need to accept the fact that on some days, you will end up prioritising your job while your kids more or less take a backseat and that’s perfectly fine. Similarly, there will be times when your kids get more of your attention and your work is put off till later. So, you actually follow a fine balance on a tightrope and eventually, it all balances out.
- Never-ending efforts to multitask
This is daily daunting hurdle, a common challenge faced by working. Whether you are working at office or from home, you constantly juggle time between their personal and professional life. Some of you may have to continue work till late in the night even when officially you have clocked out. In that case, you need to consciously take a decision to switch off mentally from work and spend time with your family, relax and destress If needed you need to put your foot down and say no to work.
- An all round need to be perfect
It can be stressful when you constantly strive to be perfect on aIl fronts- home and office. Societal expectations and the need to be perfect all the time can sometimes take a great toll on physical and emotional well-being; especially for the mothers. This is true more on days when you have to handle your child’s tantrums. You may get stressed and often feel anxious about whether you will be able to do your work and take care of your children at the same time. Learn to find your own coping mechanisms and make it work. It’s also extremely important to take some time out for self-care.
