Being a parent is a full-time job. No matter where you are living or how many kids you have, raising children and making a home takes a lot of work. Besides parenting, many of us also work another full-time job on top of that. Some of us work in big corporations, and some of us work in mom and pop shops. But, no matter where or what we do for work, balancing that “work-home” life is something that takes a lot of time and energy.
During the pandemic, it seems that the hardships of balancing life are being put on display.
Parents who began to work from home while also managing their children at the same time are going through a lot of struggles. Managing everything in the same place has proven to be extra difficult.
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Many parents opened up online and in forums about the realities of managing it all.
Parents who were beginning to work from home and balance everything together shared the truth behind how hard it was to be everywhere all at once.
One mom was able to subtly, yet powerfully, showcase the balance by posting two side-by-side images on Twitter.
Scientist and mother Gretchen Goldman shared two photos side-by-side on her Twitter account. The lefthand picture showcased Gretchen on-camera appearing on a news station interview.
However, the second photo showed what Goldman’s home life was like at that moment, behind-the-scenes.
Goldman is seen sitting in her home on the Zoom call, using a chair to get her laptop at the appropriate height for the call. She is surrounded by a mess of kid’s toys and other household items, and, she’s not wearing pants. Does this look familiar to any parents out there right now?
The photo immediately gained popularity online as many began to share it and comment on it.
Many people online began to thank Goldman for showcasing how a lot of them were currently handling their pandemic situations and how hard it was to work-from-home and be a parent.
Parents from all over couldn’t stop thanking the scientist for being “real.”
The pandemic and quarantine have been hard on everyone, but it was especially hard on working parents. It’s hard enough to work from home, but it’s even harder with children.
Goldman said she just wanted to “be honest” about the situation many are going through.
“I guess I just wanted to be honest about the situation because a lot of people are struggling right now, and I think it’s helpful to be reminded that it’s not you alone. We all don’t have it together,” she told BuzzFeed News.
She also talked about how being a woman appearing on TV is a bit harder.
“And because of expectations on women on camera, a significant part of that time has to also be spent on my physical appearance and then getting the right setup,” she added.
Goldman also shared that the post should be a teachable moment for everyone.
“At the top level, I really wanted to emphasize that this is something that our leaders, institutions, and employers should deal with. It should not be up to parents to hack their way out of this.
And that has to be balanced at the same time with making sure that that is not causing employers to withhold opportunities for employees that happen to be parents because people need flexibility right now,” she said.
