Why Working at Home May Become the New Norm, Post-COVID

by ajohnson | Sep 28, 2020 | Blog, Life

This time last year, the term “work from home parent” probably brought to mind an image of a frazzled
mom who ran an MLM business from her couch. Less often, it made you think of a dad who did web
design from the garage or a mom who ran an Etsy business out of a spare bedroom.

In reality, there were probably hundreds of thousands of businesses being run by parents who chose to stay at home, running the gamut from self-trained gourmet foodies who ran catering businesses from their kitchens to
college-educated women running million-dollar marketing companies from their basement. They ran their businesses using technology from Zoom, Slack, GoPro, and more. These businesses ran quietly behind the scenes.

Why Working at Home May Become the New Norm Post-COVID

In mid-March 2020, corporations worldwide began shutting down and sending employees home to work due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Within weeks, the technology that had powered small businesses was powering big business as remote employees began using it to connect real-time. Crowded interstates became barren wastelands, and laptops became scarce physical goods as companies transitioned their employees to remote workers. There were a few bumps for most companies. But overall, people made the change pretty well.

By May, companies were talking about making the changes permanent.

According to Progressive Policy, as many as two-thirds of American workers moved to work-at-home
positions thanks to COVID. While the traditional employer stance against work at home or even flex-
time employment has been worry about whether or not their employees would actually, well, work,
while they were working at home, corporations saw an improvement in employee productivity as
commute times disappeared. In-office distractions were reduced, even though most workers with
families were also trying to juggle managing distance learning for older children. Many were trying to
work while taking care of infants and toddlers because daycare was completely unavailable. And they
made it work. Parents worked odd hours, traded off computer time, and distracted preschoolers with
tablets and Netflix, but the work got done.

Twitter has made work from home the default for their employees. Progressive Insurance is keeping
most of its employees home into 2021. It wouldn’t be surprising to see moves like these become trends
in specific sectors: tech, financial services, marketing, etc. Of course, not everyone will be able to work
from home. Grocery stores will still need to be stocked, and roads will still need to be built, and
someone will still need to make sure the coffee gets made at Dunkin. But Stanford Research expects
that even after COVID finally comes to pass, around 40% of American workers will be based at home, up
from 5% before the pandemic started.

What does that mean for those of us that were at home before Corona?

It could mean better and less expensive tech. As more companies rely on technology to keep remote
workers connected, we should expect to see that technology improves and decreases in cost. Of course,
as the demand increases, there are going to be some hiccups. Much like Zoom's problems in the spring
of 2020 with hacked meetings and classes, we may see some issues creep up in software that is essential
to our work. Flexibility will be the order of the day!

Increasing the number of remote workers serves corporations in several ways. First of all, they will be
able to decrease the amount of space they take up, thus reducing their carbon footprint and the cost of doing business. Why rent one hundred office spaces spread over four floors in prime downtown office space if your workforce is just as functional with a single floor of shared space with plenty of charging ports for people to come in and use as needed and a conference room for private meetings that can’t be handled online?

Next, remote working makes most people happier.

They aren’t spending time commuting. They aren’t stuck in a room they don’t want to be in. And they often aren’t bound to a standard nine-to-five schedule. And even when they are, they get their time back right at the end of their shift, instead of having to wait for that often grueling drive home.

Finally, remote working allows for people who aren’t traditional learners or workers to function in a way
that benefits them. Some people are naturally night owls. If your company has gone remote and doesn’t
need you to be available at a specific time, then starting work at seven in the evening is perfect for you.
If you were recently in an accident and needed to attend physical therapy three days a week, you’re not
putting anyone out if you don’t start working until after lunch. If your spouse works days in a role where
she can’t be flexible, and daycare is still scarce because of COVID, then you can watch your child during
the day, and your spouse can take over in the evenings while you work.

Having more remote workers will be beneficial to us as a society. We will be better able to negotiate job
terms, end up with jobs where we are happier, and work more beneficial schedules. Corporations will
find having more remote workers valuable as well, with decreased real estate costs and more satisfied
employees, which will result in lowered retention costs.

Homeschooling Vs Remote Learning

by ajohnson | Sep 18, 2020 | Blog, Life

Before you decide whether you are going to homeschool your kids or enroll them in a remote learning program, you need to factor in several things. As a mother who has been doing the remote learning for about a month now, and I can tell you, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I thought I was going to be able to do the things I heard my Mother-In-Law and Grandma-In-Law say they did when homeschooling back in the day, but I haven’t been able to do any of those things. Both homeschooling and remote learning have challenges and strengths. You need to understand them well to be able to make an informed decision.

Homeschooling vs Remote Learning

Homeschooling Pros

One of the main pros of homeschooling is that it offers you absolute flexibility. You have the power to choose what your kids will learn, when to take breaks, curriculums to use, learning patterns and so much more.

You can track your child’s learning progress because you get instant feedback from them. And you can tell where they are struggling. And find ways to fix this issue with ease since you are physically together the whole time.

You have access to resources and supplies that you can use to make your homeschool successful. Many of these resources are free or can be acquired at a low price.

Homeschooling also creates a good bond between you and the kid. You will have challenging moments occasionally. But the flexibility offered by homeschooling implies that you can easily take breaks or work with your schedule. It’s easy to have fun when homeschooling and engaging your kids in fun craft projects.

Homeschooling Cons

Homeschooling can be engaging and if you do not have a good support system, you are likely to experience homeschooling burnout.

You are not an expert in all the subjects your child is supposed to learn. This means that your level of teaching might be limited. Unlike in a classroom environment where qualified teachers tackle different subjects, in homeschooling, you will be teaching all subjects. This might feel intimidating to you and make you feel inadequate sometimes when you don’t understand a certain concept.

If you have other obligations, homeschooling can be tough. There is a delicate balance between teaching, working, and taking care of other chores that need your attention at home.

Remote learning pros

The main advantage of remote learning is that your kids will be connected to their teachers and probably other students as well. This means that they have the chance to interact online with everyone, talk to each other, and share the challenges they are facing with their school work. They also get help and inspiration. Talking to other people is good for their social life as well.

Remote learning allows schools and teachers to continue teaching kids even in times of crisis (such as this lockdown). This enables the kids to stay focused and ready to go back to the classroom environment when everything goes back to normalcy.

Remote learning is affordable. Most schools charge less for remote learning compared to traditional classroom learning. Your kids will also have access to a lot of resources to make their learning efficient.

Remote learning cons

Remote learning can never replace traditional face-to-face classroom learning and interaction. In classroom learning, the feedback is immediate and the teacher can tell if the kids understand what they are being taught immediately.

Unlike in a classroom environment where the teacher can handle each kid individually depending on their strengths, many lessons on remote learning platforms are not differentiated. If your kid is struggling with certain aspects of their learning, it can be difficult for them to cope with remote learning because they do not get individual attention.

It can be hard for parents to monitor remote learning especially if they have other chores to attend to. Kids might take advantage of this to do other things online. It may also be hard to prevent online bullying. Kids are encouraged to find screen-free ways to have fun and remote learning does not facilitate that.

Homeschooling vs Remote Learning vs In-Person Schooling

This week, our district has given us the option to send our kids back to school full time in person for 5 days or continue the remote learning until the end of the semester in December. Part of me wants to continue the Remote Learning, while another part of me wants them to go back to school to get my freedom back. I will keep you posted as to what we end up deciding to do. But for now, I’m still remote teaching for at least 2 weeks as the in-person schooling is a phased process.