Punjab: As office comes home, women turn machines

Neha Sharma | TNN | Apr 15, 2020, 13:33 IST

Work from home break your concentration because of slow internet

CHANDIGARH: Working from home during coronavirus-forced lockdown has started to break Tricity's women laden with the chores of cleaning, cooking and now running a 24x7 office. Family tries to pitch in but they continue to lose sleep and health.
Project manager Chandani Kathuria Singh, seen either on conference call or running after the kids, is a mental and physical wreck at the end of the day.

She said,"A house is a different environment, the noises of which break your concentration. If that is sorted, the slow internet frustrates you. Not every company is equipped for 'work from home'. Its demands dumped a lot of extra work on us. Gone is the support of maids, so we do all the cooking, cleaning and babysitting. Seeing the family come to rescue brings some cheer".
Software professional Smriti Sharma of Sector 48 said,"Devoid of rest. I now walk like a zombie, feeding children, doing chores, and looking after the house with multiple invisible hands. You deal with international clients, pushy bosses, and economic slowdown first and then the stress of household duties. It's driving me insane”.
Her husband is also in the information technology sector but with a different work schedule. Children go cranky because parents can't give them time. Smriti has started giving them work such as watering the plants. "I have more contributing hands in the family now," she said, "some relief".
Advertising professional Kriti Sachdeva of Sector 38 said,"'work from home' had started keeping her sick, because she must be on endless calls and teleconferences with clients while doing household chores. The office hours have stretched to 24. Continuous use of gadgets and mobile phones has altered her sleep pattern. She said, “An unsaid burden ticks round the clock. Home doesn't feel like home. Mind is occupied all the time. One good thing—the family knows what work pressure is".
Shreysi of Panchkula is lucky to have children who take up responsibility. She taught them to be creative. She said,“I am my replacement maid these days, while the rest of time, I am in the virtual world of WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok. Panchkula's abacus teacher Sangeeta says in jest,"Maid, servant or driver, the lockdown taught me not to depend on any house help except the husband. There is joy in working together”.