We have been doing some extensive research on ‘remote work spaces’ to help our staff manage their family and work well. Many parents are facing a new challenge and a great challenge – how can we focus on work and engage our kids with social distancing, school, day cares, camps, and extra-curricular activities closed, postponed, or cancelled – in some cases, indefinitely. We have put together some of our own findings to help you –
- First, go easy on yourself and manage expectations well, with your employers and your family.
- As tempting as it may seem to park your kids in front of a screen all day so you can get work down, children need structure and interaction.
- Have regular meetings with them, keep a routine, post it somewhere they can see it, send them on a quest or have them create a project. Add an element of competition. to this.
- Let them have a say in the schedule so they are buying into it, experts recommend. Some suggest setting goals as well.
- Your coworkers are more understanding than you think about your kids singing in the background, having a complete meltdown or making an appearance in a video call.
- There is no professional advantage to pretending things are normal – you will reduce your anxiety if you accept this and work around this.
- With younger kids set short blocks of time like 15 minutes, so you can answer three emails, for example. Set bigger blocks of time, such as an hour, for older children.
- If you are fortunate to have a partner working from home as well, take turns with the kids.
Sometimes thinking of activities to keep kids engaged while working from home seems like it’s harder than unscrambling eggs, but the truth is that there are limitless possibilities. By putting a bit of time and effort into planning out a routine that will keep your kids engaged, you can carve out some time for yourself to be productive.
Source: HR Downloads, CTV New, CNN Business
