I’ve been doing some research with my colleague, Dr Joy Probyn, about working mothers and Covid lockdown. It began with our own experiences, struggling to work from home whilst home-schooling children. Although we’ve still a way to go in sifting through what people have told us and making some sense of it, I’d just like to offer some thoughts here on why we did it, how we did it and the response we have had so far.
23rd March 2020 saw the UK lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus. Schools closed as did all but essential workplaces. In the five months since (is it really only five months?) not a day has passed without reports of people dying and losing their jobs. Poorer, vulnerable and BAME individuals have been unequally affected. Front line medical and care staff as well as shop workers and taxi drivers have lost their lives simply because they turned up for work without adequate protection.
Against this backdrop it is easy to ignore or minimise the everyday and less drastic struggles which have taken place behind closed doors. Parents (our research focused specifically on mothers) with the relative privilege of working from the safety of their own home whilst educating and entertaining their children. How hard could that be?
It turns out to be very challenging indeed. Long working days, incessant interruptions, starting Monday with good intentions and a schedule which has collapsed by 11.30, much more screen time than is healthy (for adults and kids), feeling guilty for not doing more, feeling unprofessional and unproductive, frayed tempers from being together 24/7, the indignity of not understanding a ten year old’s Maths, creaking broadband capacity and shared laptops.
(Add to that list guilt at complaining about such ‘first world problems’).
Whatsapp research
We wondered whether other people might want to share their experiences so we put out a call via social media. Within twenty-four hours we had over a hundred mothers keen to participate. In their responses was a cry of desperation and relief that someone was listening and acknowledging their plight. About seventy-five have got involved – and these are very busy people – answering eight questions via Whatsapp each month for three months. This seems to be a really effective way to engage people and we are touched by the depth of the responses and the common experiences they are sharing.
It’s clear that juggling work and parenting without any childcare support is taking its toll on this group of highly functioning and mostly professional women – physically, emotionally and mentally. Many have suddenly found, after years of a reasonably equal partnership, that the weight of parenting and household responsibilities has mostly shifted to their shoulders. Taken-for-granted progress in gender equality suddenly seems like a ‘nice to have’ when times are good, yet quickly lost when the going gets tough. The chance to spend time doing their own thing or with close friends is sorely missed.
The longer-term career implications are a concern too. Certainly, in my role as an academic I can see that some staff and students who do not have children have been able to utilise lockdown as an opportunity to further their career by studying and publishing whilst others have been just about managing.
Strange times
Of course, these ‘strange times’ will no doubt widen the attainment gap for children who have been home-schooled (or not). The most disadvantaged children may not have access to necessary technology or parents who are willing to battle every day over worksheets sent home from school. Electricity bills are footed by households rather than schools and employers. The angst of professional, working parents is wondering whether they have done enough in this time to keep afloat their own career and safeguard the distant future careers of their offspring.
The pandemic has taught us that structural factors can suddenly throw our planned lives and steady careers into utter chaos. And yet, perhaps it has forced us to rethink our priorities and consider balances of work/life, divisions of household labour and the number of hours we spend commuting.
I echo the calls of other authors emphasising the value of careers guidance in our post-Covid community recovery. Adults who are already in work are not usually a priority group but we will need them to pay taxes and go to work (or work at home) to help the economy. Many of the participants in our research work in charities or public services such as health and education, in roles which will be instrumental in supporting those hardest hit by the pandemic.
As it stands, UK schools will fully reopen at the beginning of September offering parents a mix of relief (of return to normality) and worry (for safety). In reality, until the virus in under control, further periods of lockdown and isolation are likely to disrupt work and schooling. It is crucial that organisations understand the challenges employees with children face and support them accordingly.
I’ll post again when we have some findings, meanwhile I would be really interested in your thoughts? Please leave a reply below.
Critical Perspectives on Career and Career Guidance (COCAG) 
This sounds like a really interesting piece of research, and I look forward to hearing about the findings. You use of WhatsApp as a research tool here strikes me as particularly smart and appropriate to the context.As a full-time working parent myself (with a full-time working partner) I can definitely identify with some of the challenges you’ve raised. I can see a role for post-Covid career guidance in helping people to tell their stories of this period, and recognise the value of their experience, however it felt to them at time.
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Why do you think that homeworking has entrenched gender role division? It would be possible to view it as opening up the opportunity for these roles to be challenged. e.g. ‘We’re all at home, can’t you at least do the washing up!’
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That’s a really good question and we can ask that in the next stage (a small number of interviews). I think first of all it is important to say that the research is not about criticising men (a number of the participants were single mothers) but looking at a range of factors which have contributed to mothers’ experiences. It may be that some mothers are more likely to be allowed flexibility in their working by employers because of their childcare commitments? Perhaps children are more likely to interrupt their mum when she is working than their dad? The word ‘guilt’ seems to have come up quite frequently – maybe the mums are less comfortable leaving the children to get on with things whilst they work?
Also, the beauty (and the challenge) of qualitative research, I suppose, is that it deals in perceptions rather than ‘hard facts’ so it may be that fathers are genuinely contributing 50/50 to housework and childcare but it still feels overwhelming. I’m pretty sure that there is a valuable parallel study to be done exploring working fathers’ experiences of lockdown too!
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This looks interesting – for balance… http://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2020/07/17/sharing-care-in-lockdown-insights-from-a-new-book-on-primary-and-equal-carer-fathers/
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Eilleen, it is really good that you are researching the impact of Covid-19 on women with children. You highlight an important point i.e. that during this time we may “ignore or minimise less drastic and everyday struggles which happen behind closed doors.” The lack of childcare, having to work, having to home school, having to do housework etc. is a lot to deal with. You stated that ‘equal partnership has disappeared” during the pandemic and women are left to shoulder most or all of the responsibility on their own. Not being able to meet with close friends, engage in hobbies, get support from grandparents will compound the situation etc. and what they have to shoulder alone must have implications on the mental well-being. This would be a good time for shared care and the division of labour in homes so it is disappointing to hear that this is not the case.
It also makes me think about how single parents are faring too.
Eilleen, I look forward to learning more about the results of the survey. Also, using social media is a very innovative way to reach participants.
Emma
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Thanks Emma,
I am so pleased to read that the research is of interest. It has been genuinely humbling to have this window into the day to day lives of these mothers and see what some of them are going through. Of course, there are lots of positives too – many of them are extremely grateful that they have been able to work from home. Also, there was a real lift in collective mood once they were allowed to meet up with other people.
Yes, a number of the participants were single parents and the lack of social & childcare support was really tough.
I have to say, Whatsapp has been absolutely brilliant as a tool!
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You’re very welcome, Eileen! Thanks for your reply!
Yes, your research is really important and it sounds and from what you’ve said above about the mothers collective mood changing once they meet up with others highlights that social support is really important. It’s good that some of your participants were single parents and of course lack of social support and childcare is understandably tough!
Have a nice weekend Eileen.
Emma
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I am massively impressed that you have managed to do this research at all as you like all working mothers are already juggling so much. I also wonder how taking part in the research will help (or not) participants. You talk about a cry of desperation! How have you managed the role of impartial researcher versus being a practitioner and wanting to help them out?
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Hi Fiona, thanks for acknowledging this! Yes, I have to say that it was an additional task that caused me a lot of stress (and admin) too, especially in the early stages which was rather ironic! Even moreso for Joy as her children are tiny. We were so convinced that it was a story that needed to be told though.
That is a really interesting question – how did the research help participants (or not)? Some of them dropped out early on, probably as it was yet another job to be done. However, some have said that it has been really beneficial and given them chance to reflect. I know what you mean as well, about wanting to help them out (e.g. engaging in semi-therapeutic dialogue or signposting to professional help). There was nothing I could really do to help with the situation itself which was quite refreshing for me, as a Careers Adviser – just listening/reading and not feeling the pressure to ‘fix things’. ‘Impartial’ is an interesting word – I wasn’t really impartial, which could bias or enrich the research. Something to reflect upon when we write it up later!
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Eileen – this is a topic I am very interested in. My husband and I live with our 3 children, aged 13, 11 and 9 (12, 10 and 8 at the start of lockdown!) and both of our working days changed significantly when Covid arrived. His commute became a distant memory (at last!) whilst my work as an independent careers consultant was suspended overnight and I had to make myself redundant, with no schools open for me to deliver training and no conferences in session for me to present to. With 3 children to home school, ALL meals to plan and a full house to manage, I was extremely busy whilst my husband tried to work in the quickly converted dining room. However, my concern for young people who would not have access to careers support, as well as adults whose careers might be affected by the virus led me to launch a new business in lockdown with another consultant. One of our aims is to support career returners, many of whom will be women. Setting up the business completely changed the balance of home life but (and I refuse to say I am lucky) my husband and I are sharing the responsibility for everything related to the home and family. However, I know that this is not the case for the majority of women, for whom the burden of traditional female tasks seems to have settled on them again like 1950s housewives, except that they are also, like many of my friends, trying to provide legal advice, teach or manage people’s finances at the same time in their day job. I very much look forward to the findings of your research.
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Hi Tina, thanks so much for your comments. I know what you mean, my own situation could be seen as ‘lucky’ as my partner shares responsibility (usually). Despite his detested commute ending he had to be at his desk (well, MY desk actually!) on call, online all day and his workload massively increased. Everyone’s story is different and yet there seem to be significant shared experiences.
I am really happy to hear that this has presented you with an opportunity to pursue a slightly different direction. Working with career returners is so rewarding and very much needed. All the best for your new venture!
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Thank you for this article, Eileen! This is such an important issue, and I think one that women in different parts of the world can relate to. I was also thinking about the crucial role of people running day care centres, and in India of male and female domestic workers whose work buttresses middle-class and upper class women. The use of Whatsapp for research is fascinating!
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Hello, apologies for the delay and thank you for your comments. This is interesting and it’s great to know that there is international application. We can only hope that the past six months has elevated the appreciation of domestic and care workers – in the eyes of governments and also the individual middle and upper-classes you mention.
Yes Whatsapp has been a really good tool to use as it is end-to-end encrypted and convenient for participants to use on their phones ‘in the moment’. We have been able to upload the data using the web desktop version so it has been really straightforward.
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