With the coronavirus pandemic continuing in our lives, many people are finding it hard to keep up the way in which they worked prior to the pandemic. Many people are fearing that they will be let go or fired from their jobs due to budgets. Some are even trying to balance kids who are learning at home while working from home themselves at the same time.
It’s no wonder that many parents seem to feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
Mothers who are currently working from home during the pandemic are suffering.
According to a study , 9.8 million working mothers are suffering from “burnout” due to working from home with their children at home during the pandemic.
Over half of parents surveyed say that they are struggling with the transition and management of working from home.
In the same study, 56% of parents report, “finding the situation difficult to navigate successfully.”
With kids needing so much help and attention during the day, it’s hard to stay focused 100% on work.
Recently, one mom decided to ask her boss if she could work 80% time instead of full-time, due to her situation at home.
The mom said that her husband was taking on extra responsibilities at work and they couldn’t balance the kids at home with remote learning and both of their jobs.
Her boss, surprisingly, said no. However, the reason behind why he said no was something that shocked many people on social media.
Her boss stated that women have been “disproportionately” impacted by COVID-19.
He stated that women have been working hard for many years to make strides for equality in the workforce, so taking time off would be like taking a step back.
He said that, while his employee gave great points for needing time off, there was something else wrong.
He said that it’s wrong for employers to expect the same level of productivity from employees now compared to their productivity pre-COVID.
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Her boss claims that employers “shouldn’t” have those expectations.
No matter what, he said that his team has outperformed almost every other team, even with the challenges of COVID. COVID has definitely impacted everyone’s lives, from added isolation and stress, to having kids right in your lap while you work.
He said that the way they did it was not by using the methods many bosses are suggesting.
His team didn’t put in that “40-hour workweek” and ignore their families at home completely. Instead, they were supportive of each other and worked together when they needed to.
He shared that his team is very helpful and understanding of each other.
The team covers for each other when needed, like when someone has to pick up their kids or if a toddler pops into a Zoom call.
So, he explained why he said no.
He didn’t want his employee to be one of the statistics who falls behind in her career because of COVID. He also didn’t want her to feel guilty for working less and being a bit less productive to take time for her kids.
He shared that instead, they are blocking off time for her to help her kids and the team will help when she needs them to.
He shared that he would rather have a company and team that works together to accommodate everyone and their needs, instead of having people taking a pay cut or pausing their careers.
He shared that everyone should follow in his steps, and many totally agreed with him.
He encouraged that everyone follow this model so that we can support those who are struggling through this difficult time in society. We truly are all going through similar things, and it would be nice to see more employers act this way!
Many people online started the thread out angry, but by the end, were cheering for this boss.
Many people started the thread angry that the boss had said “no” to his employee’s request, but after seeing his reasoning, they were wishing every boss would act this way.
Others said thank you to him for showing a model for how all employers should be.
One Twitter user thanked him for “finding a way to make this work.” Children are young only once and while the pandemic is impacting us all, it’s impacting young children just as much.
One Twitter user said they had left a job previously for reasons very similar.
One Twitter user shared that she had left a previous company for a new one so that she could “perform better,” stating that happy employees outperform unhappy ones.
Another user shared a story of a partner whose company was equally as accommodating.
One said that her partner became “spontaneously blind in December” and her boss told him not to worry about it until he could get surgery and a prognosis, still protecting his salary.
Other mothers thanked the boss for being a force for gender equality.
One mother said that as a mother of a toddler and an employer, she’s “glad she doesn’t have to explain her situation to an employer.”
Sadly, gender inequality in the workforce has returned as a result of the pandemic, but some employers are doing their part to stop that from happening.
