NEW research reveals British parents are struggling with anxiety and stress as a result of having to home school their children whilst working themselves during lockdown.
CWjobs, a tech job board, found that over two thirds of parents feel stressed about having to juggle teaching with working from home.
They also found that more than 80% of parents were concerned about the long term impact on their jobs, as well as their children’s education.
Common challenges faced by many include sticking to a routine, getting children to listen and arguments between siblings making learning more difficult.
Most parents surveyed also reported that they were unable to understand their child’s school work.
As a result, CWjobs have partnered with Heart radio presenter and parenting expert, Anna Whitehouse, to help families successfully navigate lockdown by providing helpful advice and tips.
Despite the high stress levels reported, the study did find that more than three quarter of parents believe the situation has united them and brought their family closer together.
Anna Whitehouse said: “I am not surprised three-quarters of British parents are struggling to work from home and school their kids at the same time.
“The only surprise for me is that 25% are managing to pull it off!
“A nine-hour workday, plus a six-hour school day, plus seven hours of non-school parenting equates to 22 hours, which doesn’t leave room for much else! Clearly, it is not possible to work to this schedule.
“The first step is to accept it and be flexible with your routines and children. If you have a partner, agree exactly who is responsible for what, as your usual roles might need adjusting.
“Embrace technology it’s here to help you now. Have no shame in outsourcing with online educational distractions and their favourite shows.
“The tech is there, the willingness is there but what shouldn’t be there is a mound of homework and children arguing with each other over who gets the blue spoon”.
Dominic Harvey, Commercial Director at CWJobs, added: “As we find ourselves in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, work, home and school life have become one and the same for many of us.
“Before the crisis, 49% of tech workers admitted they would take a pay cut to be allowed to work from home and 66% would accept a job that was over two hours away if they could work remotely.
“So, we know the desire to work from home and remotely is there. However, what parents didn’t expect was to be home-schooling and looking after their children at the same time as working from home.”
