The omicron wave has many parents feeling pandemic stress like never before. The U.S. has experienced a record-setting number of COVID cases throughout the past month, and now child care and school closures, along with quarantines are causing major disruptions. It’s no wonder why one mom is leading the call for more support and understanding for exhausted working parents with a viral “out of office” reply that tells it like it really is.
Mary Beth Ferrante, a working partner at the consulting firm WRK/260, writes on LinkedIn that she thinks it’s time for parents to start using a “permanent out of office” response, and she offered up her own as an example. The message details the chaos that Ferrante, her husband and far too many other parents and caregivers are experiencing during the latest phase of the pandemic.
“The pandemic continues to disrupt our childcare and schools,” Ferrante’s message says. “My husband and I are back to trading off chunks of time where each of us can focus on work while the other one focuses on care (which has included taking them for multiple tests, getting aftercare canceled, and picking them up early due to runny noses and possible exposures AND it’s only been 3 working days so far in 2022). Therefore my response to your email may take some additional time.”
Not only does Ferrante’s message buy a little extra time for her to respond to emails, but it also encourages the recipient to prioritize their own family’s needs and mental health. “If you are juggling disruptions in your own care/school/health, please be kind to yourself,” she continues. “Prioritize what is most important personally and professionally. Ask for support, deadline extensions, and empathy. Try even setting up your own ‘out of office’ to remind others that we are still in fact working during a pandemic and juggling care and work is already hard enough during the best of times.”
Ferrante’s post has resonated with thousands of working parents who are feeling the strain of balancing their day jobs with demands of COVID quarantines, remote work and the many other hardships that have become a standard part of life as the impact of the pandemic lingers.
“Thank you for this,” one person writes in the comments on LinkedIn. “It is so important for companies, employers and higher education institutions to acknowledge the realities of working parents and all the challenges brought on by the pandemic!!”
Others are using Ferrante’s post to share some of the difficulties they’ve dealt with in the past month and to express frustration that parents still aren’t getting the support they need from employers or U.S. leaders.
“I love everything about this,” one parent writes. “Three days back to work, snow days, a parent with COVID, three kids in school and sports and what feels like a million close contacts already. Exhausted.”
“While all supports systems for parents have barely functioned for almost two years, we’ve been expected to function as normal and it can’t continue,” another parent adds. “I love how this email message acknowledges and normalizes what so much of the workforce is dealing with. As a single mom, I don’t have even have someone to trade chunks of time with, but have managed it alone. I have a wonderfully flexible and considerate employer, but the work still has to get done. Everyone is struggling right now, no one can believe we are still here, so we need to be kind to one another and be honest about what we are dealing with.”
One in four parents is experiencing burnout at work, according to a recent survey by Maven and Great Place to Work. This, along with Ferrante’s viral post, is a reminder that feelings of stress, overwhelm and frustration are widespread among parents and caregivers during the pandemic, and they shouldn’t have to suffer in silence or work themselves to exhaustion trying to juggle it all. The pandemic has changed everything about the way we live, work, secure child care and go to school, and it’s beyond time for a workplace culture that acknowledges what parents and caregivers are truly up against.
