Supermoms struggle with work-at-home juggling act
Published:Thursday | March 19, 2020 | 12:27 AMDanae Hyman/Staff Reporter
It might be a stretch to say that TerryKay Datadeen is at sixes and sevens in trying to strike a balance between being full-time supermom and work-at-home power exec. But the manager of Digicel Jamaica’s customer experience unit said that while life with her two children, aged six and seven, at home has been manageable, it’s still a bit of a struggle.
She is one of thousands of Jamaicans who will be working from home for at least seven days in response to a government order for non-essential employees to avoid crowded worksites as more COVID-19 cases emerge here.
Datadeen concedes that it is a dicey for employees to be productive amid the distraction that naturally comes with young children stripped of the rigid structure of traditional schooling.
“Even if you set out the questions, if they don’t know something, they are going to come and ask you, and you are going to have to tell them 99 times, ‘Guys, focus on what you are doing and no walking up and down and stuff like that,’ so you still have to stop to be mommy in the middle of working,” said Datadeen.
The customer service executive said that babysitting and brainstorming don’t go together, acknowledging that “it is unrealistic for any employer to think they are going to get the same 100 per cent”. Further, she shared that her secret to getting work done is taking her breaks at the same time she has mandated for them.
“Kids just need a routine. You can try and do the same thing they would do at school. So create a schedule, make sure there is playtime, and make sure it is engaging and fun,” Datadeen told The Gleaner.
Even though hiring a babysitter would take a load off her hands, she harbours concerns about the now-popular social-distancing protocols aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. Right now, she neither wants anyone coming into her home nor her children going out.
Another mother, Kayla Wright-Abbott, a creative client services assistant, also revealed that working from home while caring for her one-year-old toddler has been stressful.
“Normally, my child is with one of two grandparents, so I get time for myself to focus. Now, I’m having to readjust to having him with me, and he is a young child, so he constantly wants mommy’s attention.
“This morning (Wednesday), the first thing he took up was my laptop, and I started to work, and he just sat on my laptop like no, that’s not happening. I had to call his dad off the road so I could get some work done,” she said.
In the meantime, Michelle Bennett, a quality review officer, says working from home while kicking it with the kids has been manageable because of their maturity.
Her eldest daughter is in university, her son in grade 10, and her youngest child in grade five.
“What I try to do with them is maintain that same school scenario. So I get up and make breakfast, and by 8 a.m., they are on the computer doing their schoolwork,” Bennett told The Gleaner.
“They have classes where they interact with the teachers, so once they start doing their work, I start doing my work as well.”
The islandwide school closure took effect on March 13 and is expected to last for at least 14 days.