Anybody else feel like WFH becoming really common since 2020 has changed expectations of nannies? Have these things also changed for families who do work outside the home?
I was thinking back, and I feel like there are multiple things that have changed about expectations and boundaries as a nanny. Here’s some examples:
Parents who worked outside of the home didn’t have me come in if they were going to be home all day. If they took off work or they were home sick or had a holiday off, they told me not to come in. Now that WFH parents are in the home all day, it blurs the lines a lot more. I think parents felt weird about asking a nanny to come in when they are already home and didn’t have to work, but now these lines are really blurred because parents are in the home while we do our job.
Boundaries are so much more difficult. I feel like parents tried to get to know me some and shared how things were going with the kids while I wasn’t at work during hand off at the beginning and end of the day. Now with WFH parents, boundaries of what is and is not shared in conversations are a lot more tricky. It’s sometimes challenging not to feel like your NP therapist & navigate wanting some space during your workday.
Breaks. Breaks are so challenging. It’s so much harder to actually truly take a break. Using downtime during naptime or enjoying your lunch in peace is so much harder when NP come down and want to talk or vent or just having them around while you take a break during naptime makes it to where you can’t actually take a break because it’s uncomfortable.
I’m sure there are other examples. I just feel like remote work has really changed the way my workdays look. Anybody else noticed this? Do you think it’s permanent, or have things changed less for those who work for families who still have parents working outside of the home?