Parental juggling act for Tasmanian employees of work and home schooling

Tasmanians still in full-time work are struggling to find a balance when working from home and home schooling simultaneously. Unions have a message for employers.

THE State Government says parents are not expected to be “super human” amid calls for better support for those juggling both work and schooling at home.

Workforce demographer Lisa Denny from the University of Tasmania said many parents were under enormous strain working from home while supervising young kids full time.

She called for government guidelines for employers to ensure working parents did not suffer mentally and financially as a result of the switch to online schooling during the coronavirus crisis.

“We have muddled along so far, but, with homeschooling continuing for at least the ten weeks of term two, we need a plan for how this is going to work,” Dr Denny said.

“This is a highly stressful situation and it is unsustainable. There’s nothing wrong with parents admitting they can’t do this, but I fear many people won’t stand up for their rights,” she said.

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Unions Tasmania secretary Jessica Munday agreed a strong message from State and Federal governments to employers was critical.

“It’s one of the messages Unions Tasmania thinks has been missing so far,” Ms Munday said.

“We support the Government encouraging work from home to help slow the spread of the virus. But we think they need to go further by telling employers clearly this will mean they have to adjust their expectations too if it is going to work.”

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said that, as a father of three, he totally understood the added pressure on parents.

“No one is expecting you to be super human,” Mr Rockliff said.

“It is important that parents understand they are not expected to be educators. Your children’s teachers are still their teacher, they are still working and leading your children’s learning.

“My advice to parents is to not put too much pressure on yourself, supporting your child to learn means providing a suitable space for them to do their school work and ensuring they maintain a regular routine.”

Dr Denny said that was good advice for non-working parents, but did not reflect the reality for those juggling full-time work while supervising young kids who needed constant support.

Mr Rockliff urged parents feeling overwhelmed to contact their child’s school.

“We are all in this together and schools are there to ensure your children get the learning support they need.

“If you can support and supervise your children to learn from home that is the best place for them to be, however we know that for a whole range of reasons that isn’t always possible, which is why school sites will be open in term 2 for students who are unable to learn at home.”