Work-life Balance with Kids during Pandemic (and what Leaders should do)

Take comfort from the fact that you’re not alone if you feel like you’re not doing a good job while trying to manage work and kids at home. You’re among a large group of people in the same situation and feeling the same way.

A combination of worry, pressure, anxiety, fear, guilt and exhaustion can take its toll on your physical and mental health. You might be questioning if your job might suffer more than your kids. Or you might be too frightened to admit you can’t juggle everything so that you don’t lose your job. The secret is learning to tolerate the feelings of worry, accept that is really, really hard right now and will be for a while. There is no good way to balance working from home with kids in lock-down.

Some organizations are working to ensure that their staff can create a work-life balance and positively impact their well-being. Some are paying their workers in full. Some with a little less cash are sending their furloughed workers well-being packages and keeping them reassured and engaged. Organizations are encouraged to do the right thing to support their employees.

Many people in leadership roles are aware that the current situation presents an opportunity to demonstrate their support for their staff. If you are in a leadership role you know that being decent to your people will pay off later. Leaders are encouraged to think of their staffs’ well-being and support them through this difficult time. Organizations will exist long after this current crisis ends and the ones that thrive will be the ones that can show they care about the well-being of their people.