Work From Home And Family: How to Manage Two Responsibilities
Being a working parent is a huge juggling act. With demands on your time from both your family and your workplace, it can feel like you’re constantly torn between the two. Working from home can make this easier to manage in a practical sense – less time is spent commuting to the office, and there’s less of a need to constantly be in two places at once. It’s no wonder that fully remote and hybrid roles are in higher demand post-lockdown.
Although working from home offers greater work-life balance, it does also come with its own pitfalls. With less of a clear distinction between work and family life, it can be hard to feel like you’re doing a good job in either part of your life, which can lead to burnout.
With that in mind, here are some strategies that may be able to untangle the difficult knot of working from home and being a parent at the same time.
Set Clear Boundaries
It’s certainly easier said than done, but setting clear boundaries is one of the key issues that needs to be addressed. Constant distractions are not conducive to either a productive work day or effective parenting – our minds need clearly defined and separated tasks to focus on. Although it can be tempting to try to multitask, studies have shown that this could actually reduce productivity. Our brains can trick us into thinking we are multitasking well, when the reality is quite different.
A definite structure and timetable for the day can help with this, allowing you to carve out separate hours for work and family responsibilities. Life is messy, and so it’s inevitable that it won’t be perfectly successful, but having a clear plan and direction can help to calm the mind; bringing a sense of order to the chaos.
Share The Load
When children are at home full-time, separating home and work life can become almost impossible. If you and your partner both work from home, consider creating a care rota so that you both have allocated time to focus on work, rather than one person battling to find a balance. Not only is this respectful of each other’s careers, but it can also help stop feelings of resentment when one person is left with the children.
If your company offers flexible hours, it can also be worth talking to your manager about a working schedule that would minimise the amount of time you need to work and look after children simultaneously.
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Go Part-Time or Job Share
Another solution that’s worth considering (if it’s possible for you financially) is to reduce your work hours. This will take more of the load off your shoulders, and allow you to dedicate more time to your family life during the week, among other benefits.
It may seem scary to ask for reduced hours at work, but communication is key. Your work colleagues will be sure to understand your situation when it’s explained to them, and it’s possible that a job-share solution can be found.
You won’t be the only working parent seeking part-time hours, and so it may be more feasible than you think to share your job with a like-minded colleague.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be forever if you don’t want it to be – when children are a little older, you might feel able to pick up some more hours again.
Related:
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Find a Job Fast: The Job Search Accelerator For Career Professionals
Meet The Writer!
Sarah is a mum to two daughters, as well as a writer. She believes in a compassionate approach to being a working mother and aims to share advice to help women feel like they’re happy at work and at home.
