Abstract
Whereas other chapters might provide information on how to work, in this chapter, readers might contemplate the question of what happens when working from home with young children. With the hectic pace of modern life, families unexpectedly or by choice are stressed, balancing parental duties and job tasks while working from home. Negative feelings in a work-from-home environment stem from the stresses of sudden space-sharing to maintain a career and young ones' developmental needs. As a result, young children might feel isolated and have a higher risk for mental health issues, perhaps from the shared space and reduced attentive care. This chapter connects work and daily child-related activities to create a more manageable work-from-home lifestyle. Readers will learn how to utilize cognitive, developmental, educational, and social psychologies and ecological theory in this often-turbulent environment. Any workforce can benefit from implementing these “attitude changing” suggestions into the home to benefit the well-being of working families.
TopIntroduction
This chapter seeks to empower caregivers and parents (in the not-so-easy task) to pursue careers without compromising parenthood. What does it mean to work from home in tandem with a child/children aged from birth to middle school? It means taking on the grand task of being a caretaker and educator while maintaining an occupation (and, let’s face it, one’s sanity). Thinking about this endeavor is an accomplishment. Those in one’s life who know you well will either applaud you or think you are crazy. This chapter will empower caregivers and parents to pursue careers without compromising parenthood.
Conference calls and other online communication platforms are a way for many of us to stay connected to colleagues, share information, accomplish tasks, and learn from each other. A digital working environment supports the worker’s ability to maintain a contributing force to varying occupations. This ability makes it much easier for families to be where they need to be during the early stages of childhood and when activities/development occur outside the home (i.e., school, playdates, extracurricular activities, etc.). This anytime, anywhere ability provides a workspace beyond the walls of an office (Crosbie & Moore, 2004; Toniolo-Barrios & Pitt, 2021; Narayanan, Menon, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2017).
Considerable research exists that working from home can be trying on both caregivers and families, especially during the pandemic that started in 2019 (Dunatchik et al., 2020; Martucci, 2021). Various sources support that while parents work from home, social and environmental effects are present (Viola & Nunes, 2021) that affect overall well-being (physical and mental health) (Campbell & Gavett, 2021) creates technological challenges (such as connectivity and shared device issues) (Walker, 2021) and, of course, affects sleep deprivation for all involved (Liu et al., 2021). In addition, there is evidence to suggest some effects on mothering and telecommuting (Peng & Wong, 2013) work-life balance (Hilbrecht et al., 2008) and screen time balance (Gold, 2014) were all difficult for those working at home prior to the challenges of the most recent pandemic. Traditionally, decades ago, mothers stayed at home and reared their children. While economic needs have shifted, so has the work culture. A redesign of sorts is happening in the home workspace that considers daily family needs more concretely during the day than ever before (Kane et al., 2021; Adisa et al., 2021). For example: Have a last-minute meeting? Parenting responsibilities now differ. Working from home with kids may mean having no sitter on hand, a partner busy with other work obligations, kids are off from school with nothing to occupy their time. What is a caregiver to do?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Co-Viewing: Parents/caregivers watch television with their children at the same time in the hopes novel information will be explained while increasing the likelihood of bonding opportunities.
Artifacts: Any media application that includes screen-time attention. Such examples include apps, video games, television programs, streaming programs, technology platforms and the like.
Maker Education: Problem-based, project-based activities, typically STEAM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics)
Ping-Pong Attention: Tasks you can quickly pick up and begin again ( Rubinstein, Meyer & Evans, 2001 ). Work that can be completed quickly but also put down and picked up again.
Cognitive Psychology: Relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering). Branch of psychology that explores the operation of mental processes related to perceiving, attending, thinking, language.
Developmental Psychology: A scientific approach which aims to explain growth, change, and consistency throughout the lifespan.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory: An individual’s development is influenced by multiple settings of the surrounding environment as well as the interrelationships among those settings. The theory includes four systems: the immediate environments such as family and work (microsystem), the interrelationships among multiple settings such as the relations among home, work, and neighborhood (mesosystem), settings that influence the developing individual indirectly such as partner’s workplace (exosystem), and a broader setting such as cultural values and global events (macrosystem).