268 Survey Results: Working & Parenting During UK Lockdown
Why lockdown isn’t a leveller
PWC has just sent me a report saying that ‘remote working is very levelling’. Maybe in some ways, but in terms of the pressures on different kinds of households, it is the absolute opposite.
Last week, I put together a quick survey to ask how working at home and parenting was going. I thought maybe 30 or 40 people might fill it in to give me some extra insight for webinars. But 268 of you did, with loads of thoughtful, dark and/or hilarious comments—thank you.
This week I’m exploring two divides between:
Those who currently have too much time and not enough company (a group that a business leader told me this week they are most concerned about). And those who have way too much company and can’t get enough done. According to some of the people I interviewed for a Telegraph piece this week, there is a gigantic gulf between what they both need and expect right now.
Those who want to put their smart shoes on and run back to the office as soon as humanly possible. And those who say they will never work as they did before again.
Sadly you can’t even assume that you know what group people will fall into based on their household structure.
268 Working Parents Answered:
Yes they’re stressed
The headline is that 67% of parents working at home with kids are very or extremely stressed.
“Downtime. There is NONE. Either I’m juggling work and home ed, stopping the kids fighting, cooking, desperately trying to keep the house tidy (it’s not working, it’s a mess) doing bedtime, trying to get 30 mins exercise done so I’m less likely to die from COVID, planning school activities for the next day, staying up until 12 am to get a delivery slot, doing all the extra laundry that seems to have appeared, phoning older relatives daily to check on them....it’s just endless..”
Some relationships are faltering
What’s more, it is putting pressure on our relationships, with 23% saying their relationship is in a bad place, many more negotiating over whose demands take priority (someone I spoke to this week about work priorities referred to her partner as ‘my prickface’ throughout—she assures me they have now resolved it!).
Solo parents are finding it ‘very intense’, they and their children want, and need, more company. Comments included the reflections of someone widowed, coping with grieving children and ‘missing him more than ever’. And the parent of a child with disabilities who feels forgotten.
Money
The majority (62%) say that they are OK… for now, despite some having taken pay cuts. Some (23%) are actually feeling slightly better off at least in the short term because they are not paying for nurseries and activities. While 15% are very worried about money, the comments reveal more who fear trouble ahead.
Are the kids alright?
The good news is that most of the children seem to be happier than we might expect, with about half saying they are loving it or happy and few really battling at this point. It is fair to say however that, when Lockdown losses include fizzy water, cleaners, and wine bars, we’re not reaching the hardest up samples with this survey.
What are you missing while in lockdown?
The worst thing about lockdown most report is not being able to escape their children and families. Many hanker for nothing more than the commute back to their place of work.
“Being able to concentrate when at work and spend any quality time with my kids when not at work. I am living an in intense relentless hell of having neither. I miss having an evening to get stuff done in the house or just have 5 minutes to myself rather than on email until midnight. I miss being able to safely make dinner for my small children without taking calls while dealing with boiling pans of pasta and a toddler climbing onto the counter or emptying freezer drawers onto the floor.”
Is there anything you will miss about lockdown?
Rampant birdsong. Silent roads. The way strangers smile at you. The end of FOMO. Seeing your kids grow up.
“There's time for breakfast and preparing for lunch and dinner not to mention laundry and the gardening. It does make me think about how much time we spend outside of the home at work and in childcare and it now doesn't sit with me very well.”
This is a moment we will remember forever and that will change us forever.
But not all of us: as one succinctly put it “HELL NO!”
Just make sure you know which groups your colleagues are in before you start planning the future.
- Christine