What Am I Supposed to Do if my Kid’s School Isn’t Reopening?

Dear Cynthia,This is a tough situation, and I really feel for all the parents trying to make this new normal work. The pandemic is wreaking havoc on everyone's careers, it seems like, and the problem you're facing is unfortunately common. The looming childcare crisis is one we're not prepared for because there aren't alternatives. And as much as I believe in building a new kind of professionalism that accounts for the realities of the world we now live in, I don't have the power to wave a wand and make it so. There are, unfortunately, no easy answers though because there's no safety net.A friend of mine, a younger woman executive I know with two children under five, ran into the same problem, but fortunately, she lived relatively close to her family and was able to have the kids' grandmothers come over during the week to babysit while she and her husband worked. It seems to be going well, but that's a strategy that carries with it the inherent risk of infection, even with assurances that both you and the caregivers are otherwise quarantining. That's a decision she had to make for herself and her family, as she's the primary breadwinner. If there are ways for you to expand your family circle, you may be able to open up more options. Many families, for example, have had close relatives move in with them to help with childcare and be able to socialize together. Others have opted to make quarantining agreements with nearby families to share the load, organizing small childcare and even homeschooling groups where everyone within them doesn't come into contact with anyone outside of the circle. The looming childcare crisis is one we're not prepared for because there aren't alternatives.There are, unfortunately, no easy answers though because there's no safety net. What I would recommend, as a CEO, is to see if you can work out an accommodation with your employer or your partner's, assuming they live with you, so that someone is available at all times to school the children while not kicking back work availability. Establish pre-determined "contact hours" when you're immediately available, or vice versa – hours when you're entirely off the clock. Since you work in a creative role, you may have more leeway here, especially if you can coordinate person-to-person with your collaborators. Shift the focus of the conversation toward quality deliverables and meeting deadlines, rather than which hours of the day are worked. If doing your job well doesn't necessitate being on call and reachable for eight hours at a stretch, then see if there are ways you can break up and shift around your working hours to better fit with your other responsibilities.

Dear Ashley,

I would think very hard about graduate school, especially right now. Tuitions haven't come down with the collapse in the job market, and unless you're independently wealthy, I strongly suspect that more debt is the last thing you need. A lot of people your age made this mistake during the Great Recession, only to end up overeducated and over-indebted, counting on careers in academia that didn't exist or resume leverage that didn't pan out.

Even when the economy was thriving, my advice has always been to only pursue graduate school if it's what you really want to do – not just a way to avoid the challenges of navigating the job market – and you have a clear, actionable career plan in place.

Basically, while they may be harder to find, there are opportunities all around you, if you're willing to seek them out, get creative, and put in the work.

Let me stress that I'm not telling you not to go to graduate school, but there's a temptation to treat it like a panacea, and it's not one. There are certainly roles for administrators during this crisis, especially around coordinating and organizing remote work, and it's an area I suspect you would thrive in. Have you considered going into business for yourself? Making remote work actually work is a challenge lots of businesses are still struggling with, and I'm sure many would appreciate the additional support of a freelance administrator until the economy picks back up again. Your background seems very suited to that, especially for smaller shops that don't already have existing processes optimized for remote workflows.

Basically, while they may be harder to find, there are opportunities all around you, if you're willing to seek them out, get creative, and put in the work. You wouldn't have had a job to begin with if organizational work wasn't needed, and I daresay it's only more important here in the new normal.