It is 297 days since the first lockdown on 23 March 2020
297 days of working and caring for those that need our care.
297 days of juggling working from home and childcare
297 unprecedented days of protecting ourselves and our families from the virus
297 days of trying to keep our careers on track
297 days of difficult conversations, negotiations and juggling of roles at work
297 days with scarce opportunity for solitude
297 days of distractions and interruptions
297 days worrying that our child’s education will suffer and they will be left behind
297 days of guilt for what we are not able to give at work and what we are not able to give at home
297 days of running to stand still
297 days managing fear and loss in our own lives and our children’s lives.
This is exhausting, relentless, scary and sad and working parents are trying to carry on, holding down jobs whilst working from home and caring for our future generations, and in many cases elderly relatives too.
We do not subscribe to the sad story of the poor working parent with so much to carry. We think working parents are remarkable and not enough is said about how brave, resourceful, resilient and remarkable they are being.
This is a callout to organisations, line managers and colleagues to see all of the working parent and not give up on them because they are finding the third lockdown even more difficult than the first two. Tell working parents that what they are doing is incredible, that you have the utmost respect for them, that you see all of them. This is a callout to organisations, line managers and colleagues to ask working parents how they can help
