, Columnist
Parents’ Work-From-Home Struggles Are Employers’ Problem Too
Lasting school closures should prompt bosses to plan for work interruptions.
How much of this is realistic?
Photographer: OLI SCARFF / AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
As the U.S. free-falls back into an uncontained outbreak of Covid-19, school districts across the country have announced they won’t be fully reopening. It’s become a major political battle, it’s left parents struggling to figure out what to do, and it’s a problem for employers, too.
Lots of employees have kids at home. About 40% of families include children under 18, and in 64% of them both parents work. Almost three-fourths of mothers with kids under 18 work, and 93% of fathers do.