Is Your Child Your New Coworker? Helpful Tips for Investigator Parents Working from Home
Life continues to change for Americans amid the rising COVID-19 concerns. Cities across the country are on some form of lockdown orders. Employees are working remotely. Schools are shuttered. Children are home — for an undetermined length of time. Our home, a place where many could separate the obligations of work and family, is now also our office. And just like that, your new coworker may be your child.
As discussed in last week’s blog, the impact of COVID-19 on workplace investigators resulted in an increased use of technology for witness interviews and client communications, including videoconferencing and telephone calls. For workplace investigators who are also parents, balancing this new investigative process with the needs of children adjusting to being at home can feel daunting.
As I write this sitting in my home office, my own one and three year-olds are clamoring to sit on my lap so they can “go to work” just like mommy. So I feel fully qualified to opine on this topic. Here are some tips to ease the transition and still manage your workload:
Talk With Your Child About These New Circumstances. As a first step, explain to your child, using age appropriate language, what is occurring in our community. Tell them how we are helping each other by staying home. For older children, set clear boundaries and expectations, like staying quiet during videoconference interviews or telephone calls. Make up creative games to lighten the heaviness of the message. Use a 6-foot dowel to create distance among family members, and assign points to anyone who violates it within an hour. Reward the member with the least points with a creative prize.
Take Advantage of Down Time. Try to schedule videoconference interviews during a time your child is more easily occupied with other activities. For example, when they are content napping, eating, or engrossed with a toy. Consider setting aside a special toy — or for older children, an online game — to be used only for times when you have a videoconference call. You may find that instead of resenting your videoconference time, they encourage you to set it up.
Divide and Conquer. Determine if you can split primary childcare responsibilities between yourself, your partner, and other family members. Consider a structured schedule with some flexibility. For example, one family member watches the kids in the morning while another watches them in the afternoon. Try to schedule your videoconference interviews around the new schedule to ensure your child is cared for and occupied while you conduct business.
Set a Schedule. Create your own daily schedule that maximizes your productivity. This may mean starting your work day earlier, when your children are asleep, so you can get a head start. Preparing a schedule for your child can also help ease the transition from being at school or daycare to being at home. For younger children, create a visual schedule they can follow, using pictures to illustrate their activities throughout the course of the day.
Build Break Times Into Your Schedule. Build breaks into your schedule to tend to your children’s needs during the day. For example, if you know your child typically has a difficult transition waking up from their nap, set aside a few minutes in your schedule to help soothe them. Although taking these breaks can extend the length of your overall work day, they help your children get their needs addressed, which will enable you to focus when you resume your work.
Be Transparent. Life happens and we are in this together. Be transparent with your interviewee. It can help ease any anxiety you have about the element of surprise should your child surreptitiously walk in during your interview. Depending on the circumstances of the interview, use the moment to build rapport with the interviewee or bring levity to the situation. Let your interviewee know that you may have a child walk by or interrupt you during the interview. You can advise, "If that happens, I will manage it and resume our discussion."
Clients and interviewees are likely to understand the unpredictable circumstances surrounding our new virtual investigative process. Although it is difficult to plan for every contingency during this uncertain time, continue to maintain the quality and standard of your investigation process and demonstrate professionalism to the best of your ability. And, if all else fails, politely ask your new coworker if they could take a time out.
Carrie McFadden is a Senior Associate Attorney with Van Dermyden Maddux Law Corporation. Her practice focuses on conducting workplace investigations, involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, performance issues, and misconduct.
The foregoing is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor should be construed as such.
