Tips for Working from Home with Kids

by Louise Campbell, Managing Director Robert Walters Ireland

On the 12^th of March 2020, The Irish government made the decision to close schools and universities to encourage social distancing in an effort to combat the spread of Covid-19.

With this announcement, many businesses decided to offer their employees the option to implement remote working practices. Meaning, many parents are now working from home, while looking after their children at the same time.

At Robert Walters, we are practising remote working across majority of our offices and find many of our employees faced with this difficulty in balancing work and home life. As recruitment specialists, we have come together to outline a number of initiatives which can be put in place to help you manage this unprecedented situation as efficiently as possible. Here’s our top tips:

1. Be the early riser

The big advantage of working from home is that you don’t waste time commuting. Let children sleep in. This will allow you to benefit from some extra quiet time in the morning: no traffic jams, no hectic moments to get the children ready for school and drive to work… Use this time to make a quick start. It will enable you to finish a little earlier in the evening, leaving more time for some fun with the kids.

2. Set up your own space:

Just like in the office, it is important to have your own spot where you can work at ease. If you live in a rather spacious house, turn one of the rooms into a temporary office. If you live rather small, you can create your own spot in the living or dining room or even in a bedroom as a temporary workplace where you can work without being disturbed all the time.

3.Organise small activities for the children:

In order to be able to work without being constantly interrupted, you can plan some playful and more quiet activities for smaller children. There are plenty of things they can do with little support from their parents, such as DIY, painting, colouring, drawing,… Just like at school, you can divide your living room into different play corners for the little ones: a DYI corner, a reading area, a corner to play with the dolls…It is important not to offer everything at the same time or on the same day, but to offer some variety so they don’t get bored.

4. Routine is key

It is also important for yourself to build some structure into your working day. Arrange your tasks in order of importance and make sure you can carry out the most difficult tasks at times when it is calm for you, like early in the morning. By maintaining some form of structure within the family every day, children will adapt more quickly to this new situation and your work pace.

Keeping children occupied while focusing on work is not easy, especially if you need to do it on a daily basis during a longer period. Creating some form of routine might help. Like in school, it might be a good idea to plan some workshops throughout the day, with a different activity each time. Make the planning visible so kids can tick things off once done.

Plan a timeslot for homework and explain children which exercises they need to complete by when and plan a creative hour afterwards to do some drawing for example. If the weather is nice, let them play outside or give them some free time to do whatever they feel like.

5. Set daily goals for the children

A few weeks away from school obviously has an impact on children. By giving your children a little homework every day, they don’t fall behind too much. Determine every day which exercises they need to do and by what time they need to finish them. As soon as you have finished your work day, take some time to review their homework together. It will allow your children how to organise their own tasks during the day.

Older children can also be involved in little chores in and around the house. Let them wash the car, weed, fill and empty the dishwasher, tidy up their room… It will keep them busy and you can remove these tasks from your own to-do list, leaving you more family time.

6. Plan conference calls wisely

If you are in virtual contact with colleagues or external partners on a daily basis, make sure to schedule those meetings at a quiet time during the day, in order not to be interrupted too much. This can be in the early morning when the children are still asleep for example, or at a time when they can watch TV or play on the tablet.

7. Work alternate timings with your partner

When both you and your partner work from home, it can be useful to alternate some time with the children. While one parent focuses on work, the other parent can play a game with the children. Doing so, children will feel less ‘neglected’ and both parents can continue to work at alternating moments.

8. Meal planning and prep

We must all avoid contact with the outside world as much as possible. Save yourself a lot of time by, for example, doing your shopping once or twice a week and preparing a number of meals in advance during the weekend. This will free up some time during the evenings to spend with the kids.

9. Nap time

Do your children still take a nap in the afternoon? Turn this time into your advantage by focusing on those tasks that require the most concentration. By doing so, you don’t have to feel guilty when you are less concentrated during the play moments and you will feel less stressed.

10. Maintain a strong work- life balance

Finally, it is important to ensure your work-life balance is maintained. Once your work day is done, shut down your PC and enjoy the evening. Plan something fun, like a family game night for example.