Due to the pandemic, thousands of parents had to move their work home, resulting in a true circus act for many, in which we must balance childcare and typical household chores with teleworking .
There is no doubt that we are all doing our best to pretend that everything is fine and thus have some normality, but a mother has decided to take things with a bit of humor and sincerity, showing behind the scenes of video calls in a house with children .
Gretchen Goldman is a scientist, but also a mother. And like many parents these days, you occasionally make work video calls, so you have to find spaces at home to make them and look professional in front of the camera .
But as an illustration we shared a long time ago showed, what you see on the screen is one thing, and what happens behind the scenes is another , because when we live with young children, the reality is that our houses become the kingdom of toys.
And this is precisely what Gretchen wanted to share on her Twitter account, where she published an image of what the interview they had done for television by video call looked like, along with a behind-the-scenes photograph:
Just so I’m being honest. #SciMomJourneys pic.twitter.com/4yZMKtVxwP
— Gretchen Goldman, PhD (@GretchenTG) September 15, 2020
Just to be honest. #ScientificMomDay
In her photo, you not only see a typical image of a home with small children, but also the trick that we resort to many times when having meetings and video calls from home: dressing appropriately only for what others can see, well like Gretchen , we dress the top part formally, but the rest is just comfortable clothes .
In an interview with Verne, Gretchen explains why she decided to publish these comparative images, and talks about the difficulty of balancing work and parenting:
“I shared the photo because I wanted to show the reality of my situation which is that of many moms and that of other people who are struggling at the moment. It is not possible for parents to sustain such a situation and I think we should be open about it , prepare ourselves to fail because when we work, we are still human, we are still mothers and fathers. We must be more open when talking about this, “he explains.
” It’s a challenge every day. My husband and I work as scientists and we have two young children ages 2 and 4. My job requires me to organize projects, lead a research team, and be available for media requests. We must manage our work schedules while taking care of the children physically and emotionally . I barely keep up with tasks as a mother and a worker . “
Gretchen’s publication went viral, and to date it has more than 301,000 likes and 38,800 retweets , in addition to the hundreds of comments from mothers and fathers who perfectly identify with that reality behind work video calls.
Regarding her publication, she explains that she is glad to see that thousands identify themselves and know that they are not alone: ” I am happy to remind other parents that nobody is perfect and that no matter how impeccable your Zoom screen is, we are all going through difficult times . “
Via | Parents
In Babies and more | Mothers with young children who telecommute are those who suffer the most stress during confinement, confirms a Spanish study, Organizing and being flexible: tips for moms who work from home with babies and young children
