Working from home SUCKS!
So this week I read Chapter 7, Networked Work and as I read, I came to a section titled Blurring the Home-Work Boundary. Now I'm sure that the authors did not intend this section to be true for what we are facing right now, but boy are we in the thick of this #truth. Seventeen years ago when I was fresh out of college and a new teacher, I was ready to work and ready to figure out how to manage my home-life balance. That was all new to me and I was a bright eyed 21 year old still living at home. As I progressed through my first year, I met my now husband, we dated, I moved out, (moved into my second year of teaching), we got married, and I started to settle in to a somewhat normal routine of home and work- even if it was unbalanced. I even picked up some coaching- cheerleading and my husband tagged along driving the bus for me occasionally. As the years passed, the workload and stress got harder and we tried to have a family, I realized more and more that work could stay at work and I could get to it tomorrow. I began to create more space between me and my classroom and allowed more time for my family. I found my balance, and it worked for us.
Fast forward to March 2020 , two weeks before we are set to go on our annual ski trip. The kids are excited and our ski gear has been pulled down from the attic for weeks as we have tried everything on to make sure it still fits. We had every intentions of going, until the world was shut down.
Chapter 7 discussed how many times the work and home boundaries are crossed when paid work is done at home, especially for parents. When we had to make the move to remote teaching, it was more than a challenge for our house. You see, my husband is a first responder which means shift days of 24 hours on. Our school is doing synchronous and asynchronous learning. So for the upper school- which I teach- we are Live two days a week 6-7 class periods of 45 minutes each and have "work days" the other 3 days. For the lower school- which my 3 children are in- they are Live every day for different classes at different times (rotating) and have work times. On the "work days' that I have, I have to have extra help times that I am Live for - 2 hours a day, 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon- and we have meetings most days depending on what we are a part of. For me, I am in 2 departments- so 2 meetings, I am a class advisor- that's a meeting each week, I am the cheer coach- yep, I have to meet with them, and I am on the curriculum team, distance planning team, and summer online program- all meet at least once a week virtually, plus a faculty meeting each week. On top of all that, I still need to plan, grade, answer emails, send emails, and attend PD.
But I'm home now too so the rules have changed.....my kids want me...they need me. What if dad isn't home to help because he's on shift? What if that shift day is a Live day for me and it's lunch time or the kids are fighting or the Wifi crashes when all 4 of us are Live? Well, it's happened.....
My kids have crashed my Live sessions, my students have heard the chaos of my house some days, and I have been kicked out of my Live sessions more times than I would like to mentions.
(not my picture- snagged from internet-- although I have 3 kiddos)
Most people think that working from home would be great because they can spend more time with their family and relax and get things done faster....it's a bunch of CRAP! I feel more stressed, I have more work, and I spend less time with my family now than when I actually left home to go to work. And the weird thing is that my kids go to work with me because they go to school where I work. So you would think it wouldn't make a big difference, but it does. It's weird because when all is right in the world, we are a busy family- school/work, sports, events, parties, etc. We are scheduled and planned with synced calenders. But it all works and we always have time together. Now that we are all home...I feel like there is a disconnect. My husband spends more time with the kids because I'm always catching up on things (and the kids don't have all their events and activities- they get to just play).
I'm happy to say that I only have one week left of work/school before summer. Then maybe I can get in some quality time with my family before summer classes start (I teach summer school :o)
Fast forward to March 2020 , two weeks before we are set to go on our annual ski trip. The kids are excited and our ski gear has been pulled down from the attic for weeks as we have tried everything on to make sure it still fits. We had every intentions of going, until the world was shut down.
Chapter 7 discussed how many times the work and home boundaries are crossed when paid work is done at home, especially for parents. When we had to make the move to remote teaching, it was more than a challenge for our house. You see, my husband is a first responder which means shift days of 24 hours on. Our school is doing synchronous and asynchronous learning. So for the upper school- which I teach- we are Live two days a week 6-7 class periods of 45 minutes each and have "work days" the other 3 days. For the lower school- which my 3 children are in- they are Live every day for different classes at different times (rotating) and have work times. On the "work days' that I have, I have to have extra help times that I am Live for - 2 hours a day, 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon- and we have meetings most days depending on what we are a part of. For me, I am in 2 departments- so 2 meetings, I am a class advisor- that's a meeting each week, I am the cheer coach- yep, I have to meet with them, and I am on the curriculum team, distance planning team, and summer online program- all meet at least once a week virtually, plus a faculty meeting each week. On top of all that, I still need to plan, grade, answer emails, send emails, and attend PD.
But I'm home now too so the rules have changed.....my kids want me...they need me. What if dad isn't home to help because he's on shift? What if that shift day is a Live day for me and it's lunch time or the kids are fighting or the Wifi crashes when all 4 of us are Live? Well, it's happened.....
My kids have crashed my Live sessions, my students have heard the chaos of my house some days, and I have been kicked out of my Live sessions more times than I would like to mentions.
Most people think that working from home would be great because they can spend more time with their family and relax and get things done faster....it's a bunch of CRAP! I feel more stressed, I have more work, and I spend less time with my family now than when I actually left home to go to work. And the weird thing is that my kids go to work with me because they go to school where I work. So you would think it wouldn't make a big difference, but it does. It's weird because when all is right in the world, we are a busy family- school/work, sports, events, parties, etc. We are scheduled and planned with synced calenders. But it all works and we always have time together. Now that we are all home...I feel like there is a disconnect. My husband spends more time with the kids because I'm always catching up on things (and the kids don't have all their events and activities- they get to just play).
I'm happy to say that I only have one week left of work/school before summer. Then maybe I can get in some quality time with my family before summer classes start (I teach summer school :o)
Jess, thank you for sharing because I totally echo your sentiments about "boundaries are crossed when paid work is done at home." I have absolutely hated working from home. When I was home with family earlier in social distancing, I felt guilt when I wasn't spending time with them and guilt when I wasn't working more (my hours are flexible). Now that I am not with family, I find myself working at all hours of the day and have pretty much forgotten the concept of work/life balance since I now live in my office. The boundaries are so critical and something I have to reexamine as we continue moving forward in this way. I am looking to start "block scheduling" this week!
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your blog post title I thought, "What!? Working from home rocks!" After reading your post I can see why working from home in your situation would not be ideal. In fact, all of my friends who are teachers with children are not enjoying this work from home thing at all. I'm happy to say that I have no children and can freely work on my computer in my jammies while finishing my cup of coffee without distraction. Working at home has been great for me. But thank you for opening my eyes to another perspective and making me realize that not everyone is happier working from home.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely the tension that many of us are struggling with right now. I usually work from home several days a week, but WFH with kid at home is a new twist, and can be a real challenge.
ReplyDelete