What are the main challenges parents face during the MCO?

Working from home isn't easy when you have to keep your kids occupied and entertained throughout the day. — 123rf.com

Before the pandemic forced office workers to work from home as far as possible, working from home was always seen as a privilege; an idyllic arrangement where one no longer had to deal with long-commutes to and from work or being stuck for hours in traffic jams. Home-cooked lunches? What’s not to love?

Companies that offered their staff the flexibility of working from home were lauded and lifted up as examples to be followed as they gave employees, particularly new parents and workers who have to care for elderly parents or people with disabilities, a wonderful option.

Well, for the past one month or so, Malaysians have been forced to work from home to contain the spread of the virus.

But working from home under the constraints of the movement control order isn’t so ideal, many have come to realise. It isn’t bad but it requires multi-tasking and scheduling. For working parents, working from home during the MCO has them wearing many hats... simultaneously: making sure work gets done, supervising their children’s home-based schooling, preparing meals for the family on top of dealing with demands for attention from children who are also increasingly restless because of the disruption to their routines.

On top of all that, parents have also been cautioned to be mindful of how their young ones are coping with their “new normal”.

Abdul Razak (left) and Suriani (right) with their four children. Photo: Suriani Mokhtar

It’s a lot to handle, admits Suriani Mokhtar, 39, and Abdul Razak Salleh, 43, who have four children aged 16,15, six and four.

“The first week of MCO was rather ‘kelam kabut’ (chaotic), ” shares Suriani, 39, an administrator with a real estate agency in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. “I would wake up early, cook breakfast and work, simultaneously, while the kids were still asleep. Why? Because once they wake up, they would constantly demand my attention, asking for milk or food throughout the day. They would also complain that they’re bored (because they're stuck at home), even when I'm in the middle of meetings with the boss, discussions with my workmates or trying to prepare a report, ” Suriani laments.

Suriani (lleft) often has to see to her children’s needs while attending to work and calls from the office. Photo: Suriani Mokhtar

Suriani and her husband, Abdul Razak, who is a trainer with Perhebat (the governing agency for former Malaysian Armed Forces personel), are now both working from their home in Gombak, Selangor.

One of the biggest challenges, they reveal, has been what to feed their brood of four whom, the couple say, are “always hungry”.

“I used to cook just two meals a day. But now that they’re home all day, I’m preparing food and snacks throughout the day, ” says Suriani.

When she runs out of ideas of what to cook, Suriani seeks inspiration from YouTube cooking videos available online. Every meal is home-cooked because ordering delivery or take-away is very expensive, especially for a large family of six. Eventually, Suriani just prepared two meals at one go to save time.

"Posting 'what I cooked today' seems to be what everyone is doing on social media these days, but I really don’t have the time to! ” she laughs.

Their lives are “definitely much more hectic now”.The couple’s day starts at 6am. By 7am, Suriani has already started her work: preparing reports and attending to emails. At mid-morning, she cooks breakfast and lunch together, while doing some household chores (to save time), after which, she resumes her work.

“I often get interrupted by the kids, telling me they’re hungry or bored, ” she says. “Sometimes, I’m feeding them while attending to the boss’ requests!” exclaimed the multi-tasking mother.

Abdul Razak, who teaches mechanical engineering, starts his day just as early having group chats with his trainees, who are former armed forces personnel aged 35 and above.

Abdul Razak supervising one of his kids (who goes to a Chinese primary school) as he does his revision. Photo: Suriani Mokhtar

“I do video classes with them, but since my classes are usually hands-on, there are limitations, ” he says.

During the MCO, Abdul Razak is in charge of the grocery shopping. He also tends to their garden and sees to anything around the house that needs fixing.

“I teach the kids life skills, which include guiding them in doing household chores while my wife is busy working. Although it may not always be perfectly done, because they’re still kids, it’s important that they learn responsibility and for everyone to help out at home, ” he says.

Because their children study in a Chinese primary school, it is difficult for the couple to help them with their homework should they have any problems.

“But, we take turns to supervise them while they are on Google Classroom, and when they do their revision, ” says Suriani who often works past midnight.

The couple believe that following a schedule is important in getting everything done.

“Time management is very important and everything has to be put into a schedule.

“Always make sure you complete everything for the day as listed in the schedule, if not, it will become tomorrow’s task and everything will build up and become 'jammed', ” advises Suriani.

“We may not always be able to control the circumstances, but we do the best that we can under the circumstances, ” Abdul Razak adds.

Working as a team

Even though they no longer have to commute to and from work every day, mortgage consultants Andrew Hooi and Jasmine Khor say that working from home has them waking up earlier and going to bed later than before.

And, even though they are at home with their children all day, every day, the couple realise that maintaining work-life balance doesn’t happen automatically: they have to set aside time to wind down at the end of each day.

“There is just so much to handle now that we’re working from home: work, household chores, taking care of the children, seeing to their lessons, arranging meals and cooking. It has really been a lesson in patience, ” says Khor.

The couple have four children, aged 13,11, and six years, and a nine month old baby.

Hooi and Khor believe in being a team, whether in work, in life, or even during the MCO. Photo: Andrew Hooi

Having worked from their office in Damansara Intan, Petaling Jaya, for years – the couple run their own business – it took some adjustment to get used to working from home.

For one thing, they had never conducted virtual meetings with clients before: Zoom was something completely new that they had to learn. They also had to do without the convenience of a physical office.

“Initially, some of our work came to a standstill because of the MCO restrictions, and there were a lot of anxiously-waiting customers who were chasing for outcomes, so we had to reassure them.

Hooi, half-dressed for 'work from home', about to start a Zoom meeting. Photo: Andrew Hooi

“Being a more traditional brick-and-mortar business where we meet our clients personally, it took time for us to learn and adapt to virtual meetings and all the technical stuff, ” says Hooi, adding that the first week of MCO was the most hectic because of this. They also realised the importance of having computers, printers, notepads, phones and a good internet connection at home.

Maintaining client relationships or team morale is more challenging but they have found creative ways to resolve this.

“Sometimes, we send them foodstuff (by delivery) such as a cake or fresh produce, ” adds Hooi. “We hope that these little gestures show people that we’re still there for them, even during the MCO.”

Besides the challenges of working from home, the couple have also had to be creative with the meals they prepare for their children.

“We constantly need to plan meals for the family, and with growing kids, the meals must be tasty and nutritious, ” says Khor, who gets ideas from social media, group chats, YouTube videos, and friends.

Grocery shopping was initially difficult but they now buy their groceries and fresh produce online and have it delivered.

Their secret to getting things done? Teamwork.

“When I have Zoom meetings with our team, my wife will take care of our children, ” says Hooi.

The Hooi family believe in work-life balance and de-stress by spending time together in the evening. Hooi (left) with three of his children in an inflatable pool. Photo: Andrew Hooi

“And when I’m having Zoom meetings with clients, my husband will take care the kids, ” Khor pipes in.

Their two older kids are e-learning from home: Zoom classes with their teachers and homework via Google Classroom. Their third son is in kindergarten and his teacher uploads different subject videos onto Facebook for him to study, under the supervision of his parents.

“We now realise that a teacher’s job is not easy, teaching and handling children’s homework is challenging, ” they concur.The couple de-stress by spending time together as a family. In the evenings, they exercise, play video games, mahjong, board games and watch television.

“This a challenging, but also, precious time, because we can be with our children at home.

“It’s a dream come true to be able to spend 24 hours together!” says Khor, adding that before the MCO, she and her husband only saw their kids at dinner time.

Life has not been the same since the Covid-19 pandemic and MCO, and it will probably not be the same again after, but Hooi and Khor believe that they will get through it together as a team.