Working from home (with kids)

It’s two weeks on from leaving our comfortable George Street office to work from home. It's quite a 'new normal'!  I’d hazard a guess that a good few of us would have previously daydreamed at the possibility of WFH and how marvellous that would be - no commuting, less interruptions to achieve so much on our to do lists, endless supply of tea and snacks.  The list could go on.  You might start your day with a run or Body Coach workout, energised and productive to finish at a sensible time in the evening to put your feet up in front of the next boxset. Alas, at least for me, that daydream has not been the reality.  It never factored in the presence of young children. 

So, the positive bits first: the transition to WFH is not foreign for me- I’ve been able for some time to work remotely and my workspace was already set up and inviting. It’s been good to have the others WFH too: daily team calls, and regular one to ones on Teams and Zoom have meant we’ve been able to support each other from afar, rather than the others having the office camaraderie, whilst I’m remote working. And it seems to have been surprisingly positive for clients too- many have remarked that they feel that their interaction with us hasn’t really changed- I suppose because most of our work was being done by phone or email and, ironically, I am probably more accessible in the round when you take away the commute.

Now to the more, challenging aspects: there are two of them, both under 5.  Pre-COVID-19, in nursery or childcare. Crucially, nursery or childcare a long way away from my desk. Now they are my new co-workers.  They have no boundaries.  If you ask them to be quiet, they get louder.  They ask a lot of questions.  They are always hungry.  They want to play with all devices as if “working” with mummy.  It’s meant early starts and later nights, to carve out time when I can focus (on work and on then on them).  It’s meant following their routine and taking advantage of down time.  There has been use of the virtual nanny perhaps more than I would have liked, working our way through the Disney movie back catalogue to dial into calls or to attend to emails that need immediate attention. There is a strange mix of my time actually being more rigidly delineated than was the case when I was in the office, and at the same time a blurring of the lines between home and work.     

The two most important parts of my life have collided, and from that collision a kaleidoscope of new challenges exploded- it is exhausting, but it’s rewarding and uplifting too.