WFHWK - Working From Home With Kids

I guess to start, I should explain that I am a full time working mum to two beautifully perfect boys. I work in IT Recruitment and have been with SmartSourcing for 10yrs (wow that is a long time in recruitment terms!) I work Mon -Thurs in the office and since having our three year old I work from home on Friday mornings...

This article will either resonate with you as you're in a similar boat, or if you are child free and WFH it may give you an insight into an alternate reality... with humour or compassion!

I, like many other mums/parents have been thrown into working from home through no choice of our own. From day one I lost count of the number of "homeschooling" "help I'm now homeschooling" "homeschooling is brilliant" "homeschooling is rubbish" (you get the idea) invites on FB, youtube sending me live videos/ live action lessons etc...

And that first week was great! it was a little bit like a fudged holiday - we didn't know the route or the destination... but that was ok because we were going together!!

By week two however, my beautifully perfect boys started reminding both me and my husband why we go out to work full time... now, I love the boys more than anything - would literally throw myself under a bus for their health and happiness... but I am slowly losing my mind with Disney+!! (something I NEVER thought was possible!!)

Week 4/5 was probably a bit of a low point... as we all adjusted and the true enormity of our lives as we know it changing really started to hit... massively missing family and friends although today's tech has really helped!

But as we go into week 7... I feel like we are turning a corner! we seem to have found our natural flow of how our days pan out... and I for one, feel a little "lighter"... except my brew buddy is rubbish!! even after 8yrs of marriage he still puts boiling water straight onto the coffee.. instead of milk first!!

I have reminded myself that actually we have achieved some incredible things... we are all still laughing... A LOT, we have had two lockdown birthdays that have been the best ever! toilet trained our toddler, done family jigsaws and games afternoons - something we hardly did with Merlin Passes and beaches to explore... lockdown has taken away a lot of people and things.... but it's also given us such a lot too! things I didn't actually know we were missing out on...

I used to sit at work thinking how wonderful it would be to not have to travel the 15 minutes into work... and how much more time I would have if I worked from home full time... but the truth is I feel like I have even less time!! I rarely have a "lunch hour" instead it is made up of lots of 5 minute breaks to get some juice or cut some fruit, or set some more sums... and instead of "quality family time" its now quantity not often feeling like quality...

And the world of recruitment is a strange place to be at the moment... a lot of my industry have been furloughed or even been made redundant... normally this would be a fantastic opportunity to make some in roads with new clients... but we seem to be in a weird "mid point" where companies don't really know whether they can start to look forward or are they still in limbo... can we recruit the people we desperately need to keep the business on track for when we start to recover or should we hang fire a couple more weeks?

But, I am enjoying (in between the crazy duo interruptions) the chance to speak to people in depth again... find out what things are like out there "on the coal face" - there are some lovely stories of how companies are supporting their staff (my own included...) and it is refreshing to have the time to get to know some of my network, understand more about you and what makes you happiest and have a giggle as we compare WFHWK horror stories...

So I guess this article... my first - is a shout out to all the WFHWK people or actually anyone out there trying to keep their career going in these craziest of situations... especially my fellow recruiters! Be kind to yourself! ditch the guilt (parental or other)... none of us picked this situation and we are all just doing the best we can!! Hats off to any "stay at home mums" on here too, you guys rock!! I thought I had it tough juggling everything before lockdown!!

It's tough out there and with Rishi Sunak's update this afternoon it looks like it could go on for far longer for some people, but after 15yrs in recruitment, experience assures me that we will bounce back and when we/you do, SmartSourcing and my frazzled WFHWK brain will be ready to help, support and guide you to your next new role or to find your next superstar employee!

And if you do read this article and would like some "adult conversation" drop me a line - we can schedule a call and maybe help each other out along the way! after all, we really are all in this together!

My dad (a tradesman) always tells me... "its not what you know... its WHO you know!" I think this sentiment will be one that resonates as we start to look forward...

Stay safe out there people and remember we are another day closer to getting back to normal... however that's going to look!