Ok, is it me or getting back to work right now seems a teensy-weensy kinda crazy?

No, for real, I mean it.

I don’t have kids, I’m in good health condition and I only live with one other person who for the foreseeable future will be working from home because his company has decided so. In theory, I’m a good candidate to go back to work in a production office. But I am terrified.

Obviously, I know there is a great amount of work going into creating the TV and Film guidelines to ensure that we are all safe and can resume work sooner rather than later. That I understand. But what I can’t stop thinking about is HOW?  I can see how all of you parents out there can make my HOW even bigger, bolder, and probably in neon letters

I am really curious to know what conversations are being had and how individual needs are being presented and met with:

a)     Companies needs

b)    What the government can actually guarantee

In an ideal world where the Covid-19 (aka Miley Cyrus) hadn’t happened, it was already hard enough to make everything work. Now with the “new normal” upon us (anybody else uncomfortable with that term?) it seems even more complicated. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we weren’t working towards a “new normal” but creating a new reality in which a more balanced life was a priority?

I wonder a lot about all of you, the mothers out there. How can we make it all fairer to your circumstances?

 There are a lot of initiatives that are pushing and promoting for parents’ rights, but there is one I would like to mention; a platform that I’ve been following for years in Spain: Malas Madres (Bad Moms).

They are promoting the hashtag #estonoesconciliar, which roughly translates as #thisisnotreconciliation. They are illustrating the fact that at least in Spain, this COVID crisis has overlooked the families, more responsibility has been handed over to the family unit but no solutions have been presented.

Spain is a country where the work/life unbalance is covered by grandparents (a population that is now at risk due to the characteristics of the virus), and by schools and nurseries that will now be closed until September. This combo has put many parents into an untenable situation.

Malas Madres are pushing an initiative for the Spanish Government to approve the following measures:

-       Guaranteeing remote work and flexible hours by law, without losing pay compensation

-       Economical contribution to hire care for minors

They are illustrating their claim by showing pictures of mothers trying to work while surrounded by their kids or family duties.

Their conclusion is that if corrective measures are not soon implemented the people that will eventually pay the price (just as always) will be women.

I wonder how the people that have to make those difficult decisions see it. As individuals, they must need and want the same things that we all hope and strive for, but as part of an ‘entity’, they have to think about the economy first? How do you separate your individual self from the work self when you’re dealing with such universal worries?

And how do they feel about going back to work? - At an individual level.

Whatever the ‘return to work’ scenario you’re facing, I can only say that I hope you all stay safe and are provided with the best safety measures.

Love,

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