Some quick thoughts on reopening offices and schools in a part time/limited manner

(Note these thoughts focus on office workers—recognizing that other parts of the economy have comparable and larger stresses)

On average, seems like we are projecting 2 day weeks at best with no or limited extracurriculars for younger kids in school.

So you, office worker, get maybe 2 six hour days of “real” work, at home or, if it opens, your office.

We are already in a circumstance where some organizations are quietly judging their working parents inability to schedule, meet uninterrupted, work on long term projects. If schools open in this fashion, I expect this dynamic could get much worse.

Anticipate that people will understandably begin to do childcare sharing arrangements, or au pairs, or babysitters for the other hours as things open up more. Some parents will feel uncomfortable with such arrangements. Or not be able to afford them. Or face grave health risks.

And then there are people who have had COVID who will feel freer with their activities. Bottom line, there are already growing divisions among working parents. This will increase significantly, and their variation will make it challenging for even sympathetic orgs to cope.

This doesn’t even consider the real differences in children’s experience. Right now we are probably at the peak of employers understanding family needs. When this decreases, what will the costs be?

employers need to be thinking about this period. Simply extending today’s expectations is both untenable all around and unlikely. How can offices change cultures of work to keep vital talent with families or health risks? How will they hedge against bias toward those who don’t?

Schools also need to think about their offerings. Are there ways to manage aftercare or non-schools day activities in a socially distant manner? Are there spaces they can access since so many workplaces are closed?