Parents adjusting to new work-at-home schedules during pandemic

By Harley Barnes

Utah State University officials are trying to better understand how a simultaneous K-12 school closure and university-wide migration to online courses will impact employees who have suddenly joined the ranks of work-at-home parents.

A school closure impact survey, which asked employees to indicate how many children they had in the K-12 school system and if they had any alternative resources for childcare, was sent to all Utah State employees on Saturday.

Amanda DeRito, who is a member of the USU Staff Employee Association board, said the results would be used to implement new policies and adjust employee schedules.

“We are working hard to find individual solutions,” DeRito said. “Every situation is different.”
DeRito said flexible hours would be one of the most used solutions to helping employees with children to adjust.

Peter Crosby, a professor at the university and a father of three children, said the experience of being with his kids and working at has been both fun and frustrating.

“Managing two work schedules and three kids’ education has been a trip,” he said.

Crosby said he is most worried about how the situation is impacting his children's psyche since it is hard for them to understand why they have to stay home and not play with friends.

It isn’t just staff members who have been affected.

Becky Cowley is a parent and student at USU. Her son has also been doing his schoolwork online each day. Cowley said she is fortunate to work from home and be with him, and she is more worried on the emotional impact the quarantine has on families who have struggled to make schedules align.

“I consider us to be lucky,” she said. “I think there are people out there whose situation is much more difficult.”